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.
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.
My thoughts: childhood is a weird time, adults never tell you anything and punish you for spying and eavesdropping, but it’s the only way you ever learn anything, unless you have the kind of network of informants that Noah’s sister Kelly seems to as they navigate their parents’ divorce and being moved from one home to another, firstly to their grandfather’s and then to his ex-wife, their very strange grandmother’s. They’re often basically abandoned to their own devices – mum’s off working and their dad’s in the army.
Looking after younger brother Daniel, who doesn’t seem to speak, and is often sticky, they try to keep themselves entertained and informed about the goings on in their family.
Burying their grandad brings up all the memories of that turbulent time, sharing bedrooms with cousins and navigating their granddad’s decline and gran’s cruelty.
Even as adults, their family is dysfunctional and the relationship between the siblings isn’t much better. Noah and Kelly are an interesting pair – their squabbles and complicated bond get them through the tough times, which leave a mark – Kelly won’t marry her long term partner, Noah seems to be perpetually single, Daniel doesn’t even come home for the funeral.
There is a strong strand of black humour shot through this quirky and occasionally bleak story, the characters are smartly drawn and it is a surprisingly compelling read.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.
ramblingmads 
Thank you so much for taking part in the tour x
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