As a huge fan of Kate Davies novel ‘In at the Deep End’, I was pleased to be granted a review copy of ‘Nuclear Family’ by NetGalley. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read and review – as always, opinions are entirely my own.
The book opens with Lena buying a DNA kit as a Christmas present for her dad (Tom) and her twin sister (Alison). She thinks it will be fun – plus there was an offer on the kits, so they’re a bargain! However, it forces Tom into the confession that Alison and Lena were conceived using a sperm donor – something that neither were really ready to find out in their thirties. Both respond very differently – but the impact on both is lasting as they reconsider their relationships, thoughts about having their own children and what it means to be family.
This book had a quite different mood to ‘In at the Deep End’, which was incredibly funny and a bit eye-opening! ‘Nuclear Family’ is still very funny in places, but also has more emotional depth and is very thought-provoking about familial relationships. It still made me laugh, but I also found it very moving – especially how it all worked out in the end in ways I didn’t foresee.
Of all the characters, I liked Tom best – I really felt that the decision to not tell the girls they were not his biological children (a decision made with his late wife) came back to bite him in a major way. I actually felt quite sorry for him, especially as he was clearly a great dad. His fledgling relationship was really sweet and well-written too. I found Alison more empathetic as a character – the dynamics of her relationship and thoughts on maternity were also interesting and engaging. Lena was more of a challenge to grasp as a character for me – I thought she was harsh and quite unlikeable at times. I particularly found her relationship with her husband and Daniel hard to fathom. I’m glad the characters were so different as this was what opened out different perspectives on the same theme, but I didn’t always find Lena so believable as her life went into freefall.
I did really like the family dynamic though – the shared picnics in the graveyard by their mum’s grave (sounds very depressing but isn’t in Davies’ hands), the family roles that each member slots into, the clashing personalities within the group, the way that more trivial things fall away when big things happen. I also loved the running theme of their mum’s memorial – that poor, hapless designer!
Overall, this is a fun and lively look at some big, heavy themes – it will definitely make you think about blood ties, found families and some big decisions around pregnancy. I’d not really considered a lot of the ethical and moral dilemmas raised in this book, but there is a lot of food for thought. The book also celebrates diversity – there’s lots of representation of different parents here including gay, trans, donors and biological. It’s an intriguing, humorous and ultimately moving read.
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Header photo by Jonathan Sanchez on Unsplash
