I turned 30 back in 2008 and wasted the six months prior to that milestone worrying about being that old and leaving my 20s behind, yet my other half seemed totally unbothered by the whole thing (which happened 11 days after after mine).
So as a big fan of Mike Gayle I was looking forward to reading his perspective on it all. Turning Thirty follows the life of Matt, who returns to England from New York after splitting with his girlfriend. He temporarily moves back in with his parents and starts to meet up with all of his old friends in an attempt to feel young again.
Over the last few years I have had times when I feel that I am not done with my youth just yet, particularly since having my little girl (who of course dictates that in fact I am definitely done with my youth), and I have many many yearnings for my former life as a student or a young twenty-something, when life was more exciting and so on. Also one of the things that I have really struggled with over the last 10 years is that those who were such an important part of your life suddenly stop being that, and it is a struggle just to get together every couple of years, let alone meet down the pub on a weekly basis as in the past.
Anyway on that basis I felt that it was a story I could relate to on many levels, not the settling down part as I have been with my other half since we were 22, but on the rest of the letting go of your youth aspects. His observations are spot on, however I don't think that this is one of his best books and the email chapters between him and his ex are actually just annoying and don't offer anything to this book, and it does drag after a while. However if you are approaching your 30s and are feeling a bit fidgety then this is the book for you (by the way 30 feels no different to 29 - my approach to 35 this summer is a whole other matter!)
3/5
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