Mark Haddon
This is another funny book by Mark Haddon, who also wrote “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time“. In this story, he writes about a dysfunctional family and their strained relationships with each other. George, the father, is convinced that the harmless eczema on his leg is cancer (the “spot of bother”) and that he’s about to die, Jean, the mother, is having an affair with her husband’s ex-coworker, Katie, the daughter, is in a constant indecisive state as to whether she should marry her fiance, Ray, and Jamie, the son, is struggling with loving his partner, Tony. Both George and Jean dislike Ray, and don’t know how to accept or understand their son’s homosexuality. Haddon’s sense of humor is quirky, dark, and very fun to read. And for all of the faults Haddon gives his characters, I found myself rooting for them all in the end.