Stress Family Robinson 2 - The Birthday Party

STRESS FAMILY ROBINSON 2 - THE BIRTHDAY PARTY
By Adrian Plass
HarperCollins. 174 pages. £12.99 (hdbk)
ISBN 0 551 03107 7

It's now 12 years since The Sacred Diary of Adrian Plass was published, and in that time the author has gained a large number of devoted readers, who look forward to each new book coming out. The latest, Stress Family Robinson 2, continues the story of the Robinson family, this time centred around the 50th birthday of Kathy, the mother of the family.
Over time, Adrian Plass's writing has shifted its focus from church dynamics to family dynamics, but many of the same characteristics are there - his sense of humour, for example, which leads him to describe the kind of Christians who 'run around frantically, pushing an open wheelie-bin, trying to work out exactly where the blessing is going to fall', or men who 'hang up their brains in the hall like cycling helmets' when there's a cricket match on television.
But mixed with the humour and warmth are more serious topics, like anger, forgiveness, and the burden of pain left behind by abortion and childhood sexual abuse, and, of course, behind this is the all-embracing love of Jesus, which the characters rely on.
Much of the humour comes when we recognise aspects of our own families in the Robinsons, and realise just how ridiculous our behaviour actually is, like, for example, members of the family who sulk because they didn't get to choose where to go on a family outing, and end up having more fun than anyone else, in spite of themselves. And it can be both funny and touching when Kathy, who is slightly scatterbrained and impatient, clashes with her highly organised husband or her sullen teenage son Mark.
Overall, if you're looking for a warm and funny book about the Christian family as it really is, this is an excellent place to begin.

Sara Carson
Carnmoney, Northern Ireland

© Evangelicals Now - July 1999
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Main Articles

• The Star Wars myth
  The hype surrounding the release of the film Star Wars Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace (reprinted from World Magazine)
• Sorted for Es and wizz
  Tim Thornborough talks to a drug addict who found Christ
• Porn pressure
  The temptation of pornography - particularly on the internet - and the resulting effect on society
• So you want to be a leader?
  An edited speech by Roy Clements at Word Alive 1999 challenging the church to rethink its policy on choosing leaders
• Small churches can work
  Advice for small evangelical churches - Eric Harmer shares his wisdom and experience
• Investments - should Christians care?
  The final part of an interview with Lord Alton on money matters

Other articles

• Dust To Destiny - Romans
• Notting Hill
• New Issues Facing Christians Today
• Mezzamorphis (CD)
• Revival - An extract from a series of sermons preached in the anniversary year of the revival of 1859 - from the book Revival
• Breakfast On The Beach
• Churches Beware!
• Stress Family Robinson 2 - The Birthday Party
• The Tree of Life - Proverbs
• The Servant King - Mark
• The Majestic Son - Hebrews
• Apocalypse Now and Then - Revelation
• The Human Christ - The Search for the Historical Jesus
• The Collected Shorter Writings of J I Packer - Vol 1 - Celebrating the Saving Work of God
• The Collected Shorter Writings of J I Packer - Vol 2 - Serving the People of God
• Who Am I? Discovering Your Identity in Christ
• The Man Behind The Millennium
• Generating Hope - Reaching the Post-Modern Generation
• Susanna Wesley - A Radical in the Rectory