George Hall Doesn T Understand The Modern Obsession With Talking About Everything. The Secret Of Contentment, George Felt, Lay In Ignoring Many Things Completely. Some Things In Life, However, Cannot Be Ignored.At Fifty-Seven, George Is Settling Down To A Comfortable Retirement, Building A Shed In His Garden, Reading Historical Novels, Listening To A Bit Of Light Jazz. Then Katie, His Tempestuous Daughter, Announces That She Is Getting Remarried, To Ray. Her Family Is Not Pleased As Her Brother Jamie Observes, Ray Has Strangler S Hands . Katie Can T Decide If She Loves Ray, Or Loves The Wonderful Way He Has With Her Son Jacob, And Her Mother Jean Is A Bit Put Out By All The Planning And Arguing The Wedding Has Occasioned, Which Get In The Way Of Her Quite Fulfilling Late-Life Affair With One Of Her Husband S Former Colleagues. And The Tidy And Pleasant Life Jamie Has Created Crumbles When He Fails To Invite His Lover, Tony, To The Dreaded Nuptials.Unnoticed In The Uproar, George Discovers A Sinister Lesion On His Hip, And Quietly Begins To Lose His Mind.The Way These Damaged People Fall Apart And Come Together As A Family Is The True Subject Of Mark Haddon S Disturbing Yet Very Funny Portrait Of A Dignified Man Trying To Go Insane Politely.