| LONGLISTED FOR THE 2016 MAN BOOKER PRIZEA Sunday Times Book of the YearA good man in a bad world, Jon Sigurdsson is 59 and divorced: a senior civil servant in Westminster who hates many of his colleagues and loathes his work for a government engaged in unmentionable acts. A man of conscience.Meg Williams is a bankrupt accountant two words you don t want in the same sentence, or anywhere near your CV . She s 45 and shakily sober, living on Telegraph Hill, where she can see London unfurl below her. Somewhere out there is safety.Somewhere out there is Jon, pinballing around the city with a mobile phone and a letter-writing habit he can t break. He s a man on the brink, leaking government secrets and affection as he runs for his life. Set in 2014, this is a novel of our times. Poignant, deeply funny, and beautifully written, Serious Sweet is about two decent, damaged people trying to make moral choices in an immoral world: ready to sacrifice what s left of themselves for honesty, and for a chance at tenderness. As Jon and Meg navigate the sweet and serious heart of London passing through 24 hours that will change them both for ever they tell a very unusual, unbearably moving love story. |
