"The novel's pleasure, there in spades, lies in Haddon's caustic wit, his pitch-perfect nailing of each of his characters, and in his absurdly concise descriptions of the most banal activities. . . . In providing it, Haddon proves himself, once again, to be a brilliant, modern observer and cataloguer of human vice and frailty." --National Post     The setup of Mark Haddon's brilliant new novel is simple: Richard, a wealthy doctor, invites his estranged sister, Angela, and her family to join his for a week at a vacation home in the English countryside. Richard has just remarried and acquired a willful stepdaughter in the process; Angela has a feckless husband and three children who sometimes seem alien to her. All eight arrive with low expectations for a pleasant holiday.
