Adventures about to Begin by Allen Therisa

 Adventures about to Begin by Allen Therisa

Adventures About To Begin by Allen Therisa was published on the 28th March 2023 by The Book Guild. My thanks to the author and publisher for sending me a copy to review and to Random Book Tours for inviting me to take part in the tour.

Synopsis

A multi-generational British family saga set between the 1970s and the recent past, the novel follows a family and country in crisis.

Both dramatic and funny, Adventures About To Begin will appeal to readers who enjoy literary fiction, family sagas and recent British history.


After the death of his grandfather, Noah’s life is thrown into chaos as he faces a repressed past which threatens everything he believes to be true. In the course of trying to come to terms with his loss, Noah must also navigate a difficult relationship with his sister, Kelly, as they reflect on their turbulent childhood – when they were taken from London to live in the Kent countryside following the breakdown of their parents’ marriage.

Set between the 1970s and the more recent past, Adventures About To Begin chronicles a collapsing marriage as experienced by its children and reflects on how memory shapes our decisions at crucial junctures during our lives. It is both funny and touching, as well as a sensitive insight into British family life during a period of great social and cultural change.

My Review

This is a novel centred around a family of children ,growing up in the 1970's, going through the process of their parents divorce. It is a dual timeline written from the childhood perceptions and also when they are adults at their Grandma's funeral. 

As to expected this is a cleverly written story and, for those of us who grew up in the 70's some aspects are very relatable. The relationship between noah and Kelly 9 brother and sister) is not an easy one as many of you may relate to with your own siblings. The arguments and discussions that ensue are very realistic and true to the era it is written in. The moving around between Grandparents , and not having a settled base gives the children an unsettled existence, especially as their mother is already moving on with her life and their in not a lot of parental contact with their father.

By having the story follow Noah and Kelly as teenagers as well as meeting up intermittently with them again when they are adults allows for a comparison as to how their relationships have changed, or not as they have gone through life.

This is a telling story as to what life was like for a lot of children growing up in the 70's, trying to survive a broken marriage and I am sure many readers will relate to some aspects  of how they were expected to behave and were also treated.

I wonder if Allen Therisa will write a sequel to Adventures about to Begin in which we follow Noah and Kelly as adults and how they formed adult relationships.

About the Author

Aside from writing fiction, Allen Therisa also writes for blogs on everything from popular culture to politics, outside of his working life in the world of social media and website design.

Adventures About To Begin is his debut novel.