The Adult

The Adult by Joe Stretch is the story of our times and, dare I say it, my generation (am I showing my age here?). A whirlwind tour of the nineties, Stretch's novel examines the Allbrights, a family of overachievers, some famous, others stifled - all destined for greatness in their own eyes. Their rallying cry - 'Why are we called Allbrights?' followed by a unified 'Because we're all stars!' is a repeated refrain throughout the book, reminding the reader of the sense of hubris and pride running through the family.

Stretch focuses on Jim, the awkward son of Millicent, a frustrated singer, who is in turn forced to deal with his own sexual awakening and the physical imposition of a female cousin sharing his room, the successes and failures of his aunts and mother, and a curious interest in an inflatable dolphin. The book is in turn sad and hilarious as it follows Jim through a series of comically dark adventures that pull him around the country, in and out of the hearts of various girls and eventually into a band that is successful in the ways his mother wasn't.

Told in flashbacks and forwards, plotting out an alternative history of the nineties and of a family, with humour, humility and verve, this is an engaging and entirely brilliant whirlwind of a book, told with confidence and ease. Which is no mean feat for a book that is as funny as it is bawdy as it is sad as it is human.