The story centers on George, who is trying to go insane politely and without bothering anyone. He is a man somewhat overwhelmed with life. He is unassuming and kind of awkward. He earnestly tries to connect with others, but it never quite works out. He has been more or less comfortable in his circumscribed, controlled, predictable environment ever since he and his wife, Jean, settled into their married-with-kids era.
Jean, a traditional housewife, is overinvested in appearances, in how things should be. Thus, she is trying to control her daughter's wedding planning while also escaping the banality of late-married life through an affair with George’s former colleague and best work friend.
The kids are just different enough from George that he’s not quite sure what to do with them, and just similar enough to him that it makes them uncomfortable. Daughter Katie is the rebel, the hot-head, the one who, through questionable life decisions, has tried to live a more exciting life than her parents. She’s finally found a good man, a good potential stepdad for her son, but the elitism she’s internalized from her mother is getting in the way--nevermind that he’s clearly the most calm and competent of the bunch. Son Jamie is smugly content with his ability to compartmentalize his cosmopolitan life from his minimal family contact. He feels he is more than his family, that he has escaped them, yet he’s somehow unwilling to bring his boyfriend to the wedding.
A number of years ago, George had a panic attack on a flight during a family vacation, although, being George, he kept it to himself. He had a moment when he realized death--its timing and process--was both inevitable and unpredictable, something which he would never be able to control or make orderly and neat. This has led to periodic spiraling thoughts for him ever since.
Multiple things have converged into a perfect George storm: his retirement and the loss of his job to distract him from his thoughts; the stress of Katie’s upcoming wedding to an “unsuitable” man; his finding a discolored spot on his hip (his doctor assures him it is eczema, but he convinces himself it is cancer that will completely and rapidly consume him); and his accidental (and silent) witnessing of Jean’s affair.
Dark hilarity ensues. You may find yourself yelling, “No, George, don’t do that!” more than once and might have choice words for his wife and kids. I should also warn you that there are multiple very spicy scenes--all brief and all relevant to the plot or character development, but very much there.
Each character’s story may not have a Hallmark ending, but they each get a satisfying one. And when you finish A Spot of Bother, you just might find yourself appreciating your own brief time on this earth a little bit more.
