A Spot of Bother (2006) (edit title/settings)

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit see section history

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Characters/People edit see section history

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• George Hall: Main character, recently retired who thinks he is dying of cancer. His daughter, Katie, is engaged to marry for second time.
• Jean Hall: George's wife, mother of Katie and Jamie.
• Katie Hall: Engaged to marry Ray. Mother of Jacob.
• Jamie Hall: Son of George and Jean. He is gay.
• Jacob: Child of Katie; stepchild of Ray.
• Tony: Jamie's homosexual lover.
• David Symmonds: Former business associate of George.
• Ray: Katie's live-in boyfriend engaged to marry Katie. Good stepfather to Jacob.
• Dr. Barghoutian: George's psychiatrist.
• Mike: Add a description of this character.
• Sarah: A friend of Katie's and her maid of honour.
• Graham: Katie's ex-husband.
• Becky
• Ronnie
• Grandpa
• Eileen
• Barbara
• Ursula
• Brian
• Geoff
• Ryan
• Douglas
• Dr. Forman
• Andrew
• Dr. Anderson
• Bob
• Maureen
• Mona
• Dr. Parris
• Alan
• Shona
• Aidan
• Ms. Endicott
• Gail
• Mummy
• Susan
• Mina
• Jenny
• Judy
• Tom
• Granny

Quotes edit see section history

• “Later that afternoon he was lying in bed watching some golf championships on BBC2. The game had never really appealed to him. But there was something reassuring about the sensible jumpers and all that greenery stretching into the distance.”

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• And it occurred to him that there were two parts to being a better person. One part was thinking about other people. The other part was not giving a toss about what other people thought.

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• You could say all you liked about reason and logic and common sense and imagination, but when the chips were down the one skill you needed was the ability to think about absolutely nothing whatsoever.

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• Maybe the answers weren’t important. Maybe it was the asking which mattered. Not taking anything for granted. Maybe that’s what stopped you growing old.

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• “We’re just the little people on top of the cake. Weddings are about families. You and me, we’ve got the rest of our lives together.”

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• Then his father said, “I’ve been having a spot of bother recently.”

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• Still, things changed. Mobile phones. Thai restaurants. You had to remain elastic or you turned into an angry fossil railing at litter.

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• That was the problem, wasn’t it. You left home. But you never did become an adult. Not really. You just fucked up in different and more complicated ways.

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• But you had to let the atmosphere of one novel seep away before launching into the next,

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• But you either had faith or you didn’t. No reentry, no refunds. Like when his father told him how magicians sawed ladies in half. You couldn’t give the knowledge back however much you wanted to.

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• With blinding clarity he realized that everyone was frolicking in a summer meadow surrounded by a dark and impenetrable forest, waiting for that grim day on which they were dragged into the dark beyond the trees and individually butchered.

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Setting & Locations edit see section history

• London
• Peterborough
• Cornwall

First Sentence edit see section history

Table of Contents edit see section history

Series & Lists edit see section history

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. Mark Haddon (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: PE1449 .H22 1994
• Dewey: 823.914

Notes for Parents edit see section history

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Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Literature & Fiction › World Literature › British › Contemporary
• Books › Literature & Fiction › Literary
• Books › Literature & Fiction › Contemporary

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