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A Spot of Bother
- A Novel
- Narrated by: Alex Jennings
- Length: 6 hrs and 8 mins
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A Spot of Bother
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Summary
George Hall doesn't understand the modern obsession with talking about everything. 'The secret of contentment, George felt, lay in ignoring many things completely.' Some things in life, however, cannot be ignored.
At 57, George is settling down to a comfortable retirement, building a shed in his garden, reading historical novels, listening to a bit of light jazz. Then Katie, his tempestuous daughter, announces that she is getting remarried, to Ray. Her family is not pleased, as her brother Jamie observes, Ray has 'strangler's hands'. Katie can't decide if she loves Ray, or loves the wonderful way he has with her son Jacob, and her mother Jean is a bit put out by all the planning and arguing the wedding has occasioned, which get in the way of her quite fulfilling late-life affair with one of her husband's former colleagues. And the tidy and pleasant life Jamie has created crumbles when he fails to invite his lover, Tony, to the dreaded nuptials. Unnoticed in the uproar, George discovers a sinister lesion on his hip, and quietly begins to lose his mind.
The way these damaged people fall apart, and come together, as a family is the true subject of Mark Haddon's disturbing yet very funny portrait of a dignified man trying to go insane politely.
Critic reviews
"Magically, Mark Haddon presents mental illness not merely as deeply moving, but funny, and the family¿s eventual healing is heart-warming but done without sentimentality. It¿s all helped by Alex Jennings¿ understated narration, as unassuming and ordinary as George and his family, but, like them, outstanding". ( The Observer)
What listeners say about A Spot of Bother
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- MR
- 02-05-12
So funny and Heart Warming, i LOVED this book
Such a nice range of interesting characters, really engaging story. Listened to on the train and embarrassed myself many times by laughing very heartily out loud. Thank you Mark Haddon, I LOVED this book!
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Soodle
- 31-08-22
Excellent book!
Another well told story and well read too.
The annoying bit was it breaking for new CDs with awful break music and "end of CD" messages. Come on Audible, up your game!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- w s jenkinson
- 02-11-20
Mark haddons brain
Nothing makes me laugh , this did , simply the funniest thing I’ve ever heard , brilliant narration timing , dead pan delivery , thank you
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Kirstine
- 19-05-16
Enjoyable family farce
Though not as clever as the author's Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nightime, it is neverthess a rollicking saga of family dysfunction full of larger than life incidents centred around a wedding. The story reminded me of Alan Ackbourne farces in that it mixes humour with painful human experiences.
I enjoyed the book enhanced by the excellent perforemance by Alex Jennings: a master of creating different voices
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7 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
- Sherry
- 06-01-13
Entertaining
I found this book funny and entertaining. It was very well narrated and I found myself wanting to get back to it at every opportunity.
If I have one negative thing to add, it would be the overly descriptive sexual encounters. I don't think it was necessary and added nothing to the story. Such a shame as I would have recommended this book to other family members.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Leo'sMa
- 07-05-18
Insightful, funny and real!
I really enjoyed this audio book, brilliantly written and I loved the narration! I have laughed at times, felt sad at others but this a ‘real’ insight into mental health and family life! An inspirational author! Thank you x
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- MRS E K RICKETTS
- 21-08-18
Disappointed
I own a copy of this book which I really enjoyed so I was very,very disappointed to discover that this ‘Audible’ version had been greatly abridged. I think that prospective purchasers should be made aware that this version is incomplete.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 22-09-21
brilliant
I so enjoyed this book. he makes you so invested in all the characters, I am squeamish so had to turn the volume off for some parts - it is a very graphic depiction of human frailty in places. brilliant book.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Ste
- 23-01-19
Great, easy listen.
Finished this book in a few days. Loved it, really recommend it. Entertaining lively read
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Ann Rodgers
- 16-11-23
Mediocre
The narration was good but I found the story rather dull, not one I would recommend to friends.
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