sam hunt is a confused modern male in his very late twenties. a work-shy, commitment-phobic would-be actor, he is beginning to worry that turning thirty might just be the last straw. flatmate alan, the sensible one, has just been proposed to by his girlfriend jess, with his femme fatale boss looking on with a saucy gleam in her eye. newly-dumped ed spends his time tearfully watching 'sex and the city' in a pile of his ex-girlfriend's pyjamas and plotting his revenge. meanwhile unemployed doctor matt embarks on a dubious bet with sam to see who can be the first to ensnare a rich wife and enjoy a life of leisure... are your carefree twenties a retreating memory? are your friends discussing children and fixed-rate mortgages while you clutch your xbox, sobbing? you're not the only one. beta male is a riotously funny and painfully honest chronicle about friendship, masculinity, marriage and the beginning of adulthood. praise for twenty something: ‘funny, rude and entertaining... will strike a chord with anyone who is, was, or will be a twenty something’ danny wallace ‘wonderful... hollingshead writes with the cynicism of many clever young men, but the passion of very few’ matthew parris, columnist for the times 'a tasty dollop of british wit' boston globe ‘excellent... a very entertaining romp’ evening standard 'pure comic gold' booklist ‘sharp. exceptionally observant and consistently amusing' independent on sunday ‘more than enough laughs for hollingshead to stake a claim to being tony parsons for sw-something twenty-somethings’ literary review ‘wildly entertaining and well-written – five stars’ zoo