Mark Haddon brought a comic twist to the crime novel when his autistic narrator launched a murder investigation in “A Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.” His second novel, “A Spot of Bother,” is no less quirky or comic, but it is decidedly different from its predecessor, both in the characters and in the point of view of the storyteller.
Truth be told, George Hall wasn’t all that tightly wrapped even before he found out his daughter Katie planned to marry Ray. He has not been on a plane since 1979; that was when he realized, while the plane was taxiing, that his flight was doomed to a catastrophic failure. The unexpected safe landing did nothing to allay his fears.
But so long as George doesn’t plan a vacation that involves flying, life is reasonably smooth. He is retired and not annoying his wife Jean too much. He’s puttering around the house; building a studio addition gives some shape to his days. Then, a week before his daughter announces her marital plans, he notices a lesion on his hip. He is convinced this “spot of bother” is cancer. And even though his doctor tells him that it is nothing more serious than eczema, George remains sure that the end is near.
Haddon introduces the reader to the characters and their challenges with an unexpected narrative approach. He writes in the third person, but his short chapters alternate their focus between the story’s four principals: George, Jean, Katie and Katie’s brother, Jamie.
Katie’s looming marriage brings a number of family issues to the fore. It’s both a lightning rod, focusing seemingly unrelated issues, and a catalyst, setting change in motion.
It’s not that her family actively dislikes Ray, who is a solid, responsible, working-class sort. They believe he’s not good enough for her, and that she’s too intelligent to be happy with him in the long haul. But Katie has always been one to rise to the bait, if not necessarily to the occasion. She throws off the expected disapproval, and finds plenty of feathers to ruffle through the wedding planning process:
“Clearly she (Mum) would rather the wedding didn’t go ahead. But if it did, she wanted it to be a grand and public celebration. Katie pointed out that it was a second wedding. Mum said they didn’t want to seem cheap … Her mother suggested a church blessing. Katie asked why. Her mother said it would be nice. Katie pointed out that nice was not the point of religion.”
The ceremony raises a pair of issues for Jamie. He’s gay. Katie stood guard over his adolescence as he came to terms with his sexual identity. He cannot comfortably watch her embark on a path he believes will lead to heartbreak, but he’s helpless in figuring out how to change the situation.
And then there is the matter of his guest at the wedding. His boyfriend, Tony, is the obvious choice but bringing him makes a statement about the relationship that Jamie is not ready to make. And his parents, although they’ve seemed to accept his orientation, are decidedly uncomfortable with the potential sleeping arrangements.
Jean is trying to keep more than just wedding logistics in the air. Her long marriage to George has become staid and she’s embarked on an affair with one of his former co-workers. She’s so pre-occupied with juggling responsibilities and commitments that she doesn’t notice George moving from anxiety to decidedly unbalanced behavior.
The tale’s hero, the single character the narrative doesn’t directly follow, is Ray. If the planned marriage is a catalyst of division, he’s an unexpected force of healing. Haddon reveals the strength of this character with careful deliberation, and much of the power of the story turns on Haddon’s pacing.
It is hard to put a finger on what to reasonably expect after “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.” More of the same – that is, an autistic teen trying to solve the mystery of who killed the family dog, told in prime-numbered chapters – wouldn’t be nearly as charming a second time around.
But “A Spot of Bother” is a worthy sibling to the debut. There are a couple of issues that readers may stumble over. The novel is decidedly British. Most of the unfamiliar foods can be deciphered by the context, but occasionally expressions don’t translate. And while the sex in the book is hardly intrusive, some readers may find it off-putting.
Ultimately the two novels share a light comic touch and characters the reader comes to care about despite, or perhaps because of, their flaws. The story is rooted in real conflict that has the reader pulling for everyone to sort things out, even though it’s clear there will be pain before that can happen. Help and hope come, as they often do, from surprising places. And in the end, despite all the spots of bother that the characters face, the reader will turn this novel’s last pages with a bemused smile.
Robin Vidimos is a freelance writer who reviews books for The Denver Post and Buzz in the ‘Burbs.
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A Spot
of Bother
By Mark Haddon
Doubleday, 368 pages, $24.95
