Stress Family Robinson (by Adrian Plass)

'Stress Family Robinson' is a light fictional novel by Adrian Plass. It's the story of the Robinson family, told by their fifty-something-year-old close friend Dip Reynolds. Dip is privileged to be almost part of the family, so much so that she sees them without their 'visitor' masks. She observes unwashed dishes and family squabbles, and sees both the advantages and disadvantages to family life.

The Robinsons are supposedly a typical family, although I find them a tad caricatured. Mike, the father, is mostly placidly laid-back. But every so often he decides the family needs more organising, and embarks on a campaign of list-making and rota-producing, which lasts all of 24 hours before he lapses back into the usual chaos. His wife Kathy is much more volatile, with a face that displays every hint of emotion, usually either despair or delight.

Mike and Kathy have a 19-year-old son Jack who's caught at the end of being a teenager and the start of being an adult, a 14-year-old son Mark who's a typecast sullen self-centred teenager, and a six-year-old daughter Felicity who's delightfully innocent and loving.

As the book opens, the Robinsons are about to go away on a three-week trip to America. Dip, going to help them with last-minute packing, finds them panicking because they haven't even started, and then going through what Felicity calls the 'Packing Argument', which apparently takes place prior to every holiday. This consists of Mike suggesting a structured and organised method of sorting out the suitcases, followed by Kathy rejecting his idea as impractical, and then saying she'll do it all herself.

Eventually they get away, leaving Dip to look after their home, and feed the stick insects. She also has to solve a big problem: a rather easily hurt friend rings, and makes it clear that she and the Robinson family are supposed to be having a meal with him that evening, to celebrate his fiftieth birthday. Dip doesn't know what to say - the Robinsons being on their way to the airport, and clearly having forgotten all about it - and ponders telling a 'white lie'.

This is a straightforwardly told story, with a no-frills approach that's surprisingly endearing. Dip is an unmarried upright sort of lady, who (we gradually learn) is deeply lonely inside and longs to be loved. Every so often she reveals that she still has fantasies - mostly of a chivalrous nature, though not entirely - and that she finds it difficult to show her true feelings. The more she gets involved with the Robinson family, the more they help each other in being honest and open.

It's also a Christian book. Adrian Plass is one of the best-known modern Christian authors; the Robinsons are a church-going family with a real belief in God, but they fail totally to live up to what they see as 'ideal' Christians. As such it's a valuable book for Christians, getting inside the skins of real (or almost-real) people, showing that it's quite possible to love Jesus and still make a lot of mistakes. The teenagers fight with each other, and Mark often argues with his mother. Felicity asks pointed questions (why do they only say 'grace' before a meal when they have special visitors?) and Mike exasperates Kathy by suggesting that they pray when she wants to shout and scream.

It's a humorous book too. One of Adrian Plass's hallmarks is to use his dry sense of humour to demonstrate people's weaknesses gently, and to show how ridiculous some situations can be. For instance the Robinsons sometimes find themselves in the middle of a heated argument, getting angrier and angrier, shouting accusations against each other... having completely forgotten the initial trigger for the argument. Ahem. Rather pointed.

Finally, it's deeply thought-provoking. Dip has always longed to have children, so she delights in being able to spend some time taking care of Felicity, who adores her. But the enjoyment goes along with deep responsibility: what should she say when Felicity is distraught after falling over in a race at school Sports Day? Should she murmur platitudes, or give a lecture about how the important thing is to take part and that winning doesn't matter? As a parent myself I was impressed with the way Dip deals with Felicity on this and many occasions in the book, and the humility with which she admits her own failings.

There's not a whole lot of plot. The theme is Dip learning about family life while revealing some of her insecurities, and considering whether at some point she might go and live with the Robinsons. But there are plenty of incidents and a lot of deep conversations. Family relationships are explored in a variety of ways, although I have to admit that the number of dramatic situations in a short space of time made it feel a bit more like a TV soap than anecdotes from a real family.

Who would like it? Initially I thought that almost anybody who was interested either in Christianity or family life in general (or both) would enjoy this book as a light-hearted probe into the things that make different people tick. My teenage sons have read and enjoyed it, although I doubt if it would be of much interest to anyone under the age of about eleven or twelve. But I know of one or two people who I expected to like it who found it too emotional, or totally unrealistic.

I've read it three times myself since it was first published in 1995, and was pleased when a sequel ('The Birthday Party') appeared a couple of years ago. But I don't find more in it each time, as I do with some books. Instead it's a light read that takes a few hours, which I can pick up or put down as I want to.

Still, I would recommend it if you would like something undemanding with some good insights into family life.

You can also read my latest review of 'Stress Family Robinson' on this blog, after re-reading in 2010.