Haddon spot on

A Spot of Bother doesn’t disappoint

CLARK SHELDON

To become a bona fide saint in the Catholic Church, you have to perform three genuine miracles. If the same criteria are used in the literary world, Mark Haddon has one left to go.

Haddon burst onto the scene in 2003 with a book called the curious incident of the dog in the night-time. The narration is delivered through an autistic boy, and is one of the most original literary voices I have ever encountered. I picked up Haddon’s newest offering, A Spot of Bother, with enthusiasm, but also a lot of trepidation. If Haddon let me down, it would be an epic let-down — along the lines of a Casablanca remake starring Jessica Simpson.

While not as strikingly original in voice as his first book, A Spot of Bother is as fresh and inventive in tone as you’ll find anywhere. It is the story of George Hall and his family preparing for a wedding. The “spot of bother” in the title refers to the fact that George goes insane as the wedding approaches. Haddon’s description of George’s mind is spot-on. When you are put inside George’s head, you manage to see how his actions are completely off the deep end — but you completely understand why he’d do them.

Yet if Haddon limited himself only to another book written from the perspective of an abnormal consciousness, I would have been disappointed. He’d have typecast himself. But Haddon surrounds George with a fully-fleshed cast of characters including an adulterous wife, a betrothed (maybe) daughter, her child and fiancé, and a gay son. And all of these “support” characters have more depth and dimension than most novelists can muster for their main character.

Haddon is a genius at using a particular detail to illuminate a character’s entire existence. We sometimes forget the power contained in words, but Haddon clearly remembers. He manages to convey heartbreak and ecstasy in a single phrase. There are a number of marquee names at the forefront of the modern generation of fresh, fantastic writers — Gaiman, Handler, and Hornby among them. But with A Spot of Bother Haddon puts himself at the head of the class.





Volume 94 Issue 9	The Official University of Manitoba Students' Newspaper Website	October 18, 2006

Home About Us Advertise Contact Staff Current Issue PDF Employment Letters to the Editor Meet the Staff Online Archives Personals Volunteer	Font Size Respond Email Print-Friendly Haddon spot on A Spot of Bother doesn’t disappoint CLARK SHELDON To become a bona fide saint in the Catholic Church, you have to perform three genuine miracles. If the same criteria are used in the literary world, Mark Haddon has one left to go. Haddon burst onto the scene in 2003 with a book called the curious incident of the dog in the night-time. The narration is delivered through an autistic boy, and is one of the most original literary voices I have ever encountered. I picked up Haddon’s newest offering, A Spot of Bother, with enthusiasm, but also a lot of trepidation. If Haddon let me down, it would be an epic let-down — along the lines of a Casablanca remake starring Jessica Simpson. While not as strikingly original in voice as his first book, A Spot of Bother is as fresh and inventive in tone as you’ll find anywhere. It is the story of George Hall and his family preparing for a wedding. The “spot of bother” in the title refers to the fact that George goes insane as the wedding approaches. Haddon’s description of George’s mind is spot-on. When you are put inside George’s head, you manage to see how his actions are completely off the deep end — but you completely understand why he’d do them. Yet if Haddon limited himself only to another book written from the perspective of an abnormal consciousness, I would have been disappointed. He’d have typecast himself. But Haddon surrounds George with a fully-fleshed cast of characters including an adulterous wife, a betrothed (maybe) daughter, her child and fiancé, and a gay son. And all of these “support” characters have more depth and dimension than most novelists can muster for their main character. Haddon is a genius at using a particular detail to illuminate a character’s entire existence. We sometimes forget the power contained in words, but Haddon clearly remembers. He manages to convey heartbreak and ecstasy in a single phrase. There are a number of marquee names at the forefront of the modern generation of fresh, fantastic writers — Gaiman, Handler, and Hornby among them. But with A Spot of Bother Haddon puts himself at the head of the class.


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