Like Alice Sebold's, The Lovely Bones,
this book has a stand out chapter, (chapter 60), in which our main character,
George Hall - 57 and recently retired - decides to remove the lesion on the
side of his body, with a pair of scissors. (Hence the cover art) When this
fails, he decides to chisel it off instead, before succumbing to blood loss and
passing out in his cellar.
The bloody trail he leaves and subsequent
fright he causes his family on discovery, is both weirdly humorous and damned
right shocking, but this chapter alone, underlines why the author is so
revered.
Just to clarify, this book is not from the
horror section.
Like Mark Haddon's other books, A Spot of
Bother, is a story about normal people, going around doing normal things, but
with a twist.
So, George Hall has retired, but life
isn't all rosy. His wife is having an affair with his ex- business partner, his
daughter is getting married, again, and to a man the family don't really
approve of, his son, Jamie, is having commitment issues with his boyfriend, and
George, well George is going steadily mad.
I like the way Haddon interjects life into
seemingly inanimate material; creating depth and intrigue from the mundane. His
writing reminds me of Ian McEwan, but with more humour.
There's a clever mix of human emotion
here, from the families' pain and anguish, on discovering George's mutilation,
through their love and anger - George finds out about the affair - to happiness
and forgiveness, their coming together for the daughter's marriage, it's got
the lot, and then some.
I liken this book to a good English movie!
You know the sort, something with a few well-known actors in and a good solid
story, but where nothing really happens. It would have Bill Nighy and Maggie
Smith in it, Keeley Hawes would play the daughter, and you'd love their
characters so much you'd watch it all the way to the end and then smile about
it.
A good four star book this one; buy it,
read it, share it.
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