Book Review: "Red House" by Mark Haddon

An unemployed, depressed neuroradiologist, his wife and three children go on a vacation to mamma's brother, his second wife, and his step children in a Red House in Herefordshire. Things turn out not as they expected the vacation to be. Mamma learns that she hardly knows her brother. They keep up appearances but something goes awry, throwing up irreconcilable differences. 

Mark Haddon's narrative pulls along at a very leisurely pace, his words are pithy and laconic, e.g., "He flushed the toilet and washed his hands. Bed." Another innovative use of language is in the dialogue which also display a tendency towards taciturnity. Short. Telegraphic. Modern texting teenagers would approve.

When style is visibly displayed it becomes a distraction, so the narrative ambles along at its own pace. However, a good read on a rainy day, when you have nothing else besides hot coffee.

John is @johnwriter on Twitter and John.Matthew on Facebook. He blogs here. His Youtube Channel Page. His novel Mr. Bandookwala, M.B.A., Harvard.