Review of Thirty Something (Nothing's How We Dreamed It Would Be) By Filipa Fonseca Silva

Title: Thirty Something( Nothing's how we dreamed it would be)
Author: Filpa Silva
Number of pages: 156
Pub Date: June 20,2012

Joana is a conservative, controlling woman who expected much more from marriage; Maria is trying to get back on her feet after being dumped just before her wedding; Filipe hides his broken heart in failed relationships. Is this as good as it gets when you're thirty something? That's what these three friends from college times will find out during a dysfunctional dinner party. Because life is not always how we dreamed it would be. Considered by some 'The Big Chill' of the 21st century, this debut novel is all about the end of innocence. Funny,clever and real.

 First Thoughts

The author approached me to read their book and it just happened to be around the time I wasn’t accepting review request due to school (ugh) but I really wanted to read this one so I accepted. The blurb intrigued me because I feel turning 30 is a big thing and being thirty something you figure you will have your life together, but apparently that’s not the case. It’s around the time people start to reflect on their life and I wanted to see how the author approached this subject.

My Thoughts

Thirty Something (Nothing's How We Dreamed It Would Be) is about exactly what the title suggest. It is about a group of 30 something friends who discover that their life is not at all how they imagined it would be so many years ago. Joana & Andre (married couple) are having a dinner party and it is there were everyone reflects on their life.

The story is written in different points of view, which I love! I feel like that’s the only way to get all of the information and the most out of the story.  First we have Joana, who is married to Andre’ and is really not happy with how her life as turned out. She wants to be more than a housewife and she wants to experience passion. Then there is Maria, who is still struggling with life after her recent breakup and is trying to figure out both how to move on and where life is going to take her! Lastly is Filipe, he is the “playboy” that is just misunderstood, and it going through an identity crisis.

The other characters were Andre, who is married to Maria, and is content in life until life throws him a curve ball. Also there is Pedro, who has a new friend and Nuno who recently went through a lifestyle change.

Thirty Something is basically a story of reflection. We see how a group of friends, that are so different and have taken diverse paths in life, come together over dinner and how each one reflects on how different their lives are now.  I really related to this story because I’m in my last semester in school and I basically have the next ten years planned out in my head, and this story just makes me think about how dissimilar my life probably will be in ten years from what I’m dreaming of now.

The only problem I have with this story is that I wish it was longer. I think the message came across well but, the story would have been better if it was spread over a larger time frame and we could see the story-lines change based on the outcome of things that happened at this diner.

Overall, I really enjoyed this story. I was able to read it in one sitting, and that’s a plus. The transition from one point of view to the next was easy and effortlessly done, and the story was relatable for people of all ages.