A Spot of Bother - Mark Haddon

Think Modern Family and you'll understand the structure of this book. Family turmoil in the run up to a wedding that springs from three discrete sources: mom and dad, retirees and struggling with it; daughter, her child, and her new fiance, polar opposites and struggling with it; gay son, newly single and struggling with it.

The book and the show also seem to share the opinion that everyone's crazy, and it's through accepting and loving one another's craziness that relationships and families hold together. In Modern Family, the crazy can only run so deep. No fallout can last longer than twenty-two minutes. A Spot of Bother has no such limitations, and doesn't hold back from disaster.

As the narrative jumps from person to person, each bout of insanity seems to have an uncomplicated internal logic. Haddon writes his characters through their mental breakdowns like a tour bus operator pointing out the landmarks. It's all very British and matter-of-fact.

It's a very funny book. The characters are often uncomfortably human, and often painfully lacking in self-awareness. I cringe and laugh to see myself in the pages, and I won't say where. You won't want to either.