A Spot of Bother

Mark Haddon's book gave me a lot of pleasure. Like the Crusie and the Homes, this is a book I would own and reread. I love it when a book is so funny that I just laugh out loud, wherever I am reading. Doesn't embarass me, even if I am on the bus. Or maybe most especially if I am on the bus, since bus riders tend to be in such dreary moods. So, that's to recommend it. It is a romcom. After I got well into the Hall family craziness, I checked out Haddon's credentials, on the book flap. It did not surprise me to read that he has won prizes for his TV screenplays. There were moments toward the end which smacked loudly of being scenes contrived for a TV series. It all worked up to a crescendo--went from the quiet sort of English humor which George's line about "a spot of bother" typlified, to utter mayhem. I did love the book but hated the ending. But as Forrester said, endings are always unsatisfactory. I was reluctant to part ways with the Halls. The blurb tells me there are other Haddons to be had. So I am going looking for those, since this one brought me such pleasure.