Rating: 5 stars

I love it when my hints work and I get given a book I’ve been longing to read. I heard parts of the Radio 4 Book at Bedtime serialisation of Jonathan Unleashed back in the early part of 2016, and it’s been on my wish list ever since.

My memories of the radio adaptation proved to be absolutely right and I loved this hilarious novel about Jonathan Trefoil, who’s living and working in central New York. His old friend Max has arranged for him to join him in working for Comrade, a marketing outfit for which Ed, the owner and boss, “in order to convince clients that Comrade [is] a highly creative organisation” has “purchased an entire communist-era Russian railway station at auction – from signal board to ticket office – and had it installed in the Tribeca loft”. This is Jonathan’s working environment; he’s in a rented flat and unsure if he’s really allowed to be living in it, and to complicate his life, while ensuring he gets plenty of exercise and company, his brother’s two dogs (Dante and Sissy) are living with him while his brother’s working abroad. And to make things more complicated still, his college girlfriend Julie announces she’s got a new job as a senior salesperson with Bridal 360 and will be moving in with him.

Jonathan’s journey through the many complications in his life is complex and troubled and absolutely hilarious, particularly since Jonathan sees his life and the situations in which he finds himself in terms of comic strips and cartoons, to which he and Max have been addicted since they were children, even setting up their own business, MaxMan Enterprises. Jonathan’s imagination constantly lets rip and turns reality into a series of comic strips, which includes Dante and Sissy disapproving of his lifestyle. Things spiral completely out of control until finally the comic strip world becomes more real than the 3D version, while Jonathan pours out more and more drawings for a client – and at the final presentation to them has a complete meltdown.

This is the first book Meg Rosoff has published which is intended for an adult market, rather than for teenagers and young adults (such as How I Live Now and Picture me Gone, both of which I’d read and loved), and like her earlier works it tackles the tough subjects of the move from being a child to adulthood, and of how relationships work or don’t. She has the ability to control a large cast of characters, from Jonathan and his colleagues, to the vets, to the dogs, who play such a pivotal part in both the plot and our understanding of the people involved. The warmth Meg Rosoff feels towards her characters is genuine and we feel great sympathy for these young people trying to get to grips with being independent adults living in a hectic urban environment. I loved it, and I hope it’s the first of many more adult novels from her. In the meantime, I’ll be going back to read her earlier works again!

Reviewed by Daisy

Find this book on Amazon