Five of us (Maria, Lee Anne, Sandra, Alex and Andrew) discuss A.L. Kennedy’s latest book, the novel ‚Serious Sweet‘ , long-listed for the Booker Prize in 2016.

A good man in a bad world, Jon – 59 and recently divorced – questions his work as a civil servant in Westminster. By contrast, Meg – 45 and a recovering alcoholic – is a ‚bankrupt accountant‘, who is seeking safety. They are both trying to make moral choices in the immoral world of contemporary London. Will mutual love save these two damaged and still vulnerable creatures within the 24 hours that the story is set? (We intersperse, between the discussion and short readings, music mentioned in the novel, including ‚Stuck in the Middle with You‘ by Stealer’s Wheel and ‚La Campanella‘ by Liszt.)