THIRTYNOTHING

Another hip and happening comic love story from British author Jewell (Ralph’s Party, 2000).

Having just turned 30, childhood best friends Digby and Nadine have the lives they’ve always wanted: they own their own trendy London flats, enjoy cool careers (Dig works for a record label, Nadine’s a photographer), and have a never-ending supply of dates. But it’s the last that gives pause as they realize that at their grand old age their respective relationships lack a certain substance and staying power. The reason, of course, is that Dig and Deen are perfect for each other, spend weekends and holidays together, and therefore never put the required effort into other relationships. It never really occurs to them that they should enter the realm of coupledom, though it does to everyone they know—and to the reader—quite quickly. Will Dig and Deen get together and live happily ever after? Is the sky blue? It’s a foregone conclusion that they will, leaving Jewell with the tricky problem of filling three hundred pages with enough comedy and romance to make the wait worthwhile. Her plot diversions aren’t very convincing threats to the course of true love, though they do provide some comic relief: While walking through the park one day, who should Dig and Nadine run into but Dig’s teenaged sweetheart, the perfect and now very wealthy Delilah? Move over, Deen. In London for mysterious reasons, with a Yorkshire terrier named Digby tucked under her arm, Deen begins imagining Dig’s life with this cotton-candy goddess. This throws her into a jealous spin, so what can she do but call her college sweetheart, Phil. But both Delilah and Phil leave much to be desired, providing the slapstick distractions needed to keep a reader on course while awaiting the preordained happy ending.

Endearing characters and fine comic timing rescue what’s otherwise simply predictable.