The deaths of cartoonist Martin Rowson’s father and stepmother cause him to revisit the family house in a dream vision. To set the scene, we’re treated to a detailed inventory of the ‘stuff’ that has accumulated in his father’s workshop over the years, gradually filling all available space. Memories become artefacts as Rowson’s descriptive skills ensure that the personality of his father as an eccentric scientist and hoarder emerges via his surroundings. From this starting point he explores his family history, the circumstances of his adoption and subsequent upbringing, with affection and humour.
Also woven through the book are wonderfully evocative passages that conjure up the ’60s and ’70s, including a fascinating chapter on smell. These are interspersed with odd bits of information as Rowson follows his own rambling train of thought. It seems that the father’s eclecticism has been inherited by his son to entertaining effect – except that Rowson was adopted, which throws up some interesting questions about nature and nurture.
Ultimately though, ‘Stuff’ is about families and their foibles, with the wonderfully stoical character of Rowson senior, emotions firmly in check, at the centre. Thoroughly satisfying.
