A Spot of Bother

Mark Haddon

My boss was telling me the other day about a book her book club had read recently-- The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. Only two people had really liked it, "but you probably would like it, you like off-beat stuff..."

That night I was dropping some stuff off at the library and cruised past the new book shelf. This one caught my eye, then I realized it was by the same author. Picked it up and read it in a day.

I really, really liked this one. It's about how we miss truly connecting with each other by a hair's breadth and wind up lonely in the midst of people we love. It follows 3 couples (a mom& dad, their son & daughter with their respective partners) as the emotional and physical distance between partners grows almost to a breaking point. Then they all manage to come back together just in time for a wedding (the daughter's) -- perfect. The message to all -- listen to one another, say what you really feel, stop being stupid and messing up your relationships for the sake of saving face -- pay attention to what is really important. Good advice all round.