Fun to read if you've got nothing else to do. And just this book on your hands. I had to read it because I was analysing insanity as part of my PhD degree. It is very contrived, and sometimes it gets really boring. Not original at all, like his prized Curious Incident of the Dog. It seems more like a description of one of the stupidest American comedies. But you know, each to their own.

Darkly humorous, this is a cleverly written, multi-generational family story told from the various members' perspectives. None of them really see nor hear one another, and their silo'd lives start to fall apart. They need one another to become whole again. Mr Haddon is a terrific, contemporary British novelist with an amazing ability to convey empathy for the most challenging characters. A Spot of Bother recalls wacky comedies such as A Death at a Funeral, emotionally charged family dysfunction as in About A Boy, and classic stiff-upper-lip forbearance (as in any Masterpiece theatre series).