Turning Thirty [Paperback]

Mike Gayle (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 8, 2005

What's the big deal?

Unlike a lot of people, Matt Beckford is actually looking forward to turning thirty. His twenties really weren't so great...and now he has his love life, his career, his finances -- even his record collection -- pretty much in order, like any good grown-up should. But when, out of the blue, Elaine announces she "can't do this anymore," Matt is left with the prospect of facing the big three-oh alone. Compounding his misery is the fact that he has to move back in with his parents.

What's it all about, Alfie?

Mum and Dad immediately start driving Matt up the wall, and emails from Elaine and nights out with his old school chum Gershwin aren't enough to snap Matt out of his existential funk. So he decides to track down more old schoolmates and see how they're handling this thirty thing. One by one, he gets in touch with the rest of the magnificent seven -- Pete, Bev, Katrina, Elliot, and Ginny, his former on-off girlfriend -- and soon the old gang is back together. But they're a lot older and a lot has changed and, even if he and Ginny still seem attracted to each other, you can't have an on-off girlfriend when you're thirty. Can you?

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Brit Matt Beckford and girlfriend Elaine agree, one evening in their Brooklyn apartment, that while they love each other, they're no longer in love, and break up. Reassessing as his 30th birthday looms, Matt arranges to relocate to Australia and decides to show up at his parents' doorstep in England to kill the three months until he's needed at his new job. A good deal of time is spent on philosophizing, punctuated by hand-wringing transcontinental e-mail exchanges with Elaine (who works at a big-shot PR firm and worries over the time spent e-mailing Matt). Matt ends up reuniting with his old high school gang, including onetime friend-with-benefits Ginny. Soon, he's wondering if he should spend the rest of his life with her... and Elaine decides to visit. On one level, this reads like straight chick lit, with stock characters and familiar entering-adulthood coupling situations. But Gayle, author of Dinner for Two and two other U.K.-only titles, gives Matt's first person nice twists of out-of-touch unreliability, and makes Elaine, as suddenly forlorn e-mailer, comic. Readers who have lived beyond 30, or even 25, will know instantly that most of their self-justifications are BS—just as all the to-ing and fro-ing is inevitable—and smile to themselves. (Nov.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

British novelist Gayle, author of My Legendary Girlfriend (2002) and Dinner for Two (2004), tackles the big 3-0 in his latest novel to hit stateside. Matt Beckford has a good job in New York and lives with his beautiful girlfriend, Elaine. But when Elaine breaks up with him, Matt finds himself on a new course, requesting a transfer and moving back home to Birmingham to live with his parents in the interim. Matt is none too thrilled by the prospect of turning 30 while living in his childhood home, but he finds himself revisiting his youth by reconnecting with two old friends: his best friend, Gershwin, now married with a young daughter, and Ginny, the girl who was never quite Matt's girlfriend but with whom he shared a strong connection. Readers, especially those approaching 30 or just past it, will especially relate to the struggles of Matt and his friends to find direction and love in the face of a benchmark birthday. Kristine Huntley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 357 pages
• Publisher: Pocket Books; Original edition (November 8, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743477650
• ISBN-13: 978-0743477659
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,165,541 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good book about a painful subject, December 8, 2005

By 

Bearette24 (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Turning Thirty (Paperback)

Mike Gayle makes a point about how our society values perpetual youth, so that when people turn 30, they freak out. I went through it myself in July. Thankfully, the book is written with a lot of humor so that a potentially painful subject becomes entertaining.

Our protagonist, Matt Beckford, is a likable guy. A British expat, he's living with his girlfriend in New York. The problem is, his girlfriend doesn't feel the spark anymore, and neither does he, although they're great friends. After an almost unbelievably amicable parting, Matt goes home to England to live with his parents for four months between jobs. (He's getting transferred to the Australia office of his software development company in four months).

Once he's in England, Matt catches up with all his old mates from high school, who are all nearing 30 or already turned. He also encounters Ginny Pascoe, a sort-of girlfriend from high school. In the past, they constantly hooked up, but they never had a real relationship. Ginny is dating someone now, but she and Matt start spending a lot of time together. Matt also stays in touch with Elaine via email as he tries to figure out how he feels about turning 30 and his life in general.

Mike Gayle has not really caught on in the US, that I can see, and that strikes me as a shame. His books always have likable, funny, immediately relatable characters. They happen to be very funny as well.

My one complaint about this book was the ending. It wasn't predictable at all, but it wasn't entirely satisfying. However, he may write a sequel, because this is the book most of his fans have asked him to write a sequel to. I'm looking forward to it!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Big 3-0, November 9, 2004

By 

J.R.Kennedy (Toronto) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Turning Thirty Pb (Paperback)

Mike Gayle is big in the UK, but for some reason he hasn't caught on to the same extent over here. I don't quite know why, because Gayle can write some blissfully (and sometimes wistfully) funny stuff. Plus his characters are endearing, sympathetic and human -- even if sometimes they act rude, egotistical or boorish. Turning Thirty is just as humourous and absorbing as Gayle's previous work, which means it's operating at a pretty high standard indeed.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Above-Average Reading Experience!, December 28, 2005

By 

Molly (Lincoln City OR) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Turning Thirty Pb (Paperback)

This book was my first experience reading the work of Mike Gayle, and I am please to report that I plan to read more of his books in the future! I enjoyed this book for the most part, which surprised me because I was a bit hesitant to read it since I am still several years from 30 and typically don't read books written from the male point of view.

The book did make me think about goals I have set for myself and how life rarely turns out just as you plan it to in high school. I thought the main characters were well-developed and I was surprised by the ending...a nice treat! I cracked up everytime the author mentioned a previous classmate then put in () what he/she was predicted to be in high school and what he/she ended up being.

I would certainly recommend this book to any reader around the age of 30. I caught myself thinking of old friends and experiences from my hometown that I hadn't thought of for awhile while reading this one. It's a good book to read if you're starting to feel like life hasn't taken the turns you hoped it would by your 10-year reunion! :)

I do recommend this book!