Shape Of a Boy by Kate Wickers:
Kate Wickers is the truly seasoned travel journalist. There's nothing you can tell her about how to behave in exotic climes. And this book is a summary of her and her families' adventures since the Millenium. Her husband Neil and her boys Josh, Ben and Freddie are as much characters in this narrative as she is.
So, this is not the traditional travel book. There is no over-arching narrative, or geo-political discussions. And in a way, you don't really miss those. This is as much a book about the "joys" of travelling with children; whilst trying to have a decent holiday on your own terms. Those of us with children will tell you that this is reconciling two entirely disparate/Panglossian notions.
In a sense, you watch the three boys grow up, within the narrative frame of annual holidays. Her children are millennials, in every sense of the word. But over the course of twenty years, the author has had some fabulous trips to places like Egypt, Mallorca, Borneo and Japan.
Whilst there though, the author's adventures/misadventures have included retrieving a "little message" left in a hotel pool by one of her sons, being interrogated by Israeli police, trying to enjoy a yoga lesson with grumpy teenage children and possibly, best of all: giving the complimentary rum from a Cuban hotel room, to the cleaners to supplement their wages.
The writing is light and frothy, but slightly arch at the same time. The author is constantly looking for relaxation, berated by her own kids for being a "Helicopter Mum"… but each chapter of their travels is used as lesson learnt; in bringing up well-adjusted, empathetic, decent human beings. Who also sell those rare Pokémon cards for £90 on eBay when they get older.
Plus, there is also the regret that her children are now (possibly) too old for family holidays. Plus, the fact that Covid brought the idea of those to a temporary halt.
It's not a long book, but the kind which is perfect for your own - hopefully less fraught - holidays. Let your mind drift, whilst you congratulate yourself on being a good parent and asking the koan: What would Kate Wickers do?
