More Reviews

At the expense of alienating a great many people I am going to talk about books.

The 2 books I will talk about are both very different.

Mark Haddon’s A Spot of Bother

Mark Haddon’s books are probably better know among a much younger audience than the target audience of this his second adult novel. However despite his inexperience in this field of literature Mr Haddon has truly created a masterpiece. This however is no surprise as his first adult novel “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” despite the undeniably strange title this book is beautifully written and deals with some very deep themes.

However I am going to talk about “A Spot of Bother” and as the name suggests the main character is not having a good time of it. George has just found out he has cancer and his wife is having an affair with an ex workmate. On top of that his daughter is getting married to a man he doesn’t like. The main character is not without his flaws but despite of these you just cant help liking him. The short chapters move the story on and quicken the pace. The story switches well between the main characters. The plot twists although infrequent add depth to the story and take it in a completely new way.

Although this book is nowhere near as good as his first adult novel it is still great and I heartily recommend it.

Patrick O’Brian’s Master and Commander

This book is allot slower in pace than “A Spot of Bother” and it is only perforated with short periods of action.

Master and Commander follows Captain Aubrey of the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars. Although the pace of the book is slower it pulls you along with the charms of Captain Aubrey and his companion Stephen Maturin. The book is very different to the 2003 film. Russell Crowe and Paul Bettany play their parts perfectly and perfectly portray the characters as they appear in the book.

The short periods of action make even a land lover like me yearn for the perils of the ocean.

Both books are masterstrokes of 2 very accomplished authors.