About this title: Haddon's unforgettable follow-up to the international bestseller "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time" proves rich comic fodder for the author's crackling prose and bittersweet insights into misdirected love--and an amusing portrait of a dignified man trying to politely go insane.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Doubleday
Date Published: 2006
ISBN-13:9780385520515ISBN:0385520514
Description: A wonderful copy with some minor edgewear to the cover. Dust Jacket has some edgewear present. -, Hard Cover, Very Good / Very Good. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Doubleday
Date Published: 2006
ISBN-13:9780385520515ISBN:0385520514
Description: Good in Good jacket. First Edition. 329-V Books rated "Good" may have some notes, underlining, or highlighting. These books also may contain the previous owner's name, stamp, sticker, or gift inscription, or may be library discards. read more
Description: Very good. Book has appearance of light use with no easily noticeable wear. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Good. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Good. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Very good. Book has appearance of light use with no easily noticeable wear. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Good. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Very good. Book has appearance of light use with no easily noticeable wear. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Very good. Book has appearance of light use with no easily noticeable wear. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Doubleday Books
Date Published: 2006
ISBN-13:9780385520515ISBN:0385520514
Description: New in new dust jacket. unread, remainder mark. Glued binding. Paper over boards. With dust jacket. 354 p. Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Doubleday Books
Date Published: 2006
ISBN-13:9780385520515ISBN:0385520514
Description: New in new dust jacket. unread, remainder mark. Glued binding. Paper over boards. With dust jacket. 354 p. Audience: General/trade. read more
"if you can get past the first 200 pages, this turns out to be a vaguely compelling read. but really, getting through the 1st 200 pages of someone's book, just for the remaining 80 pages isn't my idea of a fun time. if only it was a nice little novella or short story! it ultimately was an ok experience for me, just lacks the charm & focus of haddon's earlier lovely CURIOUS CASE...too bad!"
"I suspect this novel was whipped up to fulfill the second book of the author's deal with the publisher -- and given the phenomenal success of the author's first book, the publisher went ahead with it. "A Spot Of Bother" lacks any of the precision and warmth and surprise of "A Curious..." Chapters read like outlines jotted down in a notebook. Hypochondriac dad: check. Philandering mother: check. Bitch sister: check. Gay brother: check.
The book only comes alive -- briefly, and then slips back into anonymity -- when George cuts off the growth from his hip. In that moment I was suddenly interested in him. But then we were back to characters who conformed to their outlines. Vaguely ethnic doctor: check. Mother feeling guilty: check. Sister unsure of her fiance: check. Brother dumped by boyfriend: check.
"I got a liking for this book from the first page. At first glance,we have an ordinary family story- a daughter who wants to marry the wrong man (or at least her parents think so), a homosexual son who has just splitted with his boyfriend, a wife who is guilty of adultery,and a husband who is going mad. George is one of the most interesting characters in the novel. Haddon has managed to convey brilliantly the sense of inner destruction, panic and obsession with the fear of dying. Like in "A curious incident...", the writer shows his skill in drawing a vivid and yet warm and human picture of the complexity of different kinds of psychological disorder- autism and depression. Definitely one of the best reads for 2008!"
"Although this was enjoyable enough to read, I was still fairly disappointed in it, even taking into account the fact that I didn't expect too much out of it in the first place (for self-preservational reasons, since Haddon's first novel is one of my favorites). See, it turns out that the detached, observational tone of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, which I thought worked so brilliantly for that book's narrator, is actually just the way Haddon writes. All the time. Even though every chapter of this book was from a different character's point of view, all of their stories and emotions were presented in that (now familiar) flat, dispassionate manner.
So not only did A Spot of Bother fall well short of the precedent set by The Curious Incident, it also threatens to slightly lower my opinion of that book. Well, I just won't let it."
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