A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon

Second novels usually aren't that great, especially when the first novel was something as good as The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. Second novels tend to be long winded, over-ambitious and over-populated. With this in mind, it was with some trepidation that I first picked up A Spot of Bother. The synopsis on the back cover did little to reassure me; the cast seemed alarmingly large and with vast numbers of intertwingled plotlines. I had to give it a chance, though. If it turned out to be anywhere near as good as Haddon's first novel, it would be well worth reading. Anxiously, I made a start.

I was, ultimately, pleasantly surprised. Disguised as yet another boring novel about a dysfunctional English family was this insightful yet enjoyable study of human nature, especially the contradictory expectations we have of ourselves. As each character struggles with their various insoluble problems Haddon has the wisdom to stay well back and let them try to sort things out themselves. The result is less agonising than one might expect. By the end of the novel each has found their own sort of hope, and the reader is left satisfied without being overnourished.

Haddon has a terrific knack for getting inside the minds of different types of people. We saw this skill used in great detail in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, and it's good to see it put to broader use here. Hardly feeling like a second novel at all, A Spot of Bother is instead a testament to a great literary mind.