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Serious Sweet
Serious Sweet | A. L. Kennedy
14 posts | 3 read | 1 reading | 16 to read
A 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 e~a bankrupt accountant e" two words you done(tm)t want in the same sentence, or anywhere near your CVe(tm). Shee(tm)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 cane(tm)t break. Hee(tm)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 whate(tm)s left of themselves for honesty, and for a chance at tenderness. As Jon and Meg navigate the sweet and serious heart of London e" passing through 24 hours that will change them both for ever e" they tell a very unusual, unbearably moving love story.
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blurb
MPL
MPL
Serious Sweet | A. L. Kennedy
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Books so sweet 💘. Check ‘em out!

11 likes
review
lesleymoss
lesleymoss
Serious Sweet | A. L. Kennedy
Bailedbailed

Beautifully written but the endless gloomy minutiae of this book were too much for me. Most, but not all, of my book group felt the same.

quote
bookishrose
bookishrose
Serious Sweet | A. L. Kennedy
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"When I say 'we' I mean 'I', but I am in need of company and so present myself as if I am a group."

#currentread

9 likes1 stack add
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Well-ReadNeck
Well-ReadNeck
Serious Sweet | A. L. Kennedy
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#LibraryHaul

Christmas is a magical time, full of magical thinking. 🔮There is no possible way I can read all of my current checkouts before they are due 😆 But, I can try!!

Gleefulreader I have two bags out from the library right now. It is ridiculous. (I'm going with it is all ok given that one bag is graphic novels. Right? 😂) 7y
WellReadCatLady Omg what sticker set is this? 7y
Well-ReadNeck @GirlInterruptedReading it's the stickers in the newest Litsy update (at least on iPhone). If you haven't updated recently, head on over to iTunes and do it!! Lots of cool new features, filters and stickers!!!! 7y
147 likes3 comments
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slothandtabby
slothandtabby
Serious Sweet | A. L. Kennedy
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The arrival of a new A.L. Kennedy book is cause for great rejoicing, even if Knives seems sort of annoyed about being used for a photo op. #catsoflitsy #knivesisoftenannoyed

3 likes
blurb
KarenUK
KarenUK
Serious Sweet | A. L. Kennedy
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Now this is just getting ridiculous! Absolutely nothing won for years.... and now 3 in as many weeks from the Goodreads giveaways! Excited to read this long listed Man booker.....

50 likes1 stack add
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SharonGoforth
SharonGoforth
Serious Sweet | A. L. Kennedy
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Another reason I ❤️ Litsy - AWESOME book mail from generous Littens!! Thank you SO MUCH @RebeccaH !!! It literally just arrived, and I can't wait to read it! #bookmail

tagged users iconLitsy
RebeccaH Yay!!!!!! I hope you enjoy it :) 8y
43 likes1 comment
review
Simona
Simona
Serious Sweet | A. L. Kennedy
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Mehso-so

The story follows a day of two wounded souls framed by London. The power of expression of this story is in great descriptions of life in London and the inner monologue, which are interested as well as funny, but in the second half of the book monologues are too repetitive. At the end of the book I didn't care what will or will not happen with Jon and Meg. I like the basic idea of the story, alternating narration and writing style with ...👇

Simona ...rich descriptive language. If the story was more compact, it would be certainly a great book. 8y
katedensen I much prefer A.L. Kennedy's earlier work...I didn't really like the last novel of hers I read,
[tagged book]The Blue Book
8y
Simona @katedfisher I'm not familiar with her work, but I liked this book enough that now I'm interested in her work. Looking forward to your review 😃 8y
katedensen @Simona I discovered her in 2008 when I read The Book of Other People, a collection Zadie Smith edited that included a story by Kennedy. I read Paradise (novel) and Indelible Acts (short stories) and remember liking both. I had forgotten about her until I happened to be in Edinburgh during the Edinburgh Book Festival in 2011. The Blue Book had just been published and I went to a reading/signing. All years ago, but I remember not liking it as much. 8y
Simona @katedfisher I think that I will try with short stories. Thanks for recommendations 😃 8y
40 likes5 comments
review
RebeccaH
RebeccaH
Serious Sweet | A. L. Kennedy
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Mehso-so

This had its moments but overall was too long, boring in spots, too messy.

Simona Sadly, but I must agree. 8y
RebeccaH Yes it's disappointing but I'm glad I'm not alone @Simona 8y
16 likes2 comments
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RebeccaH
RebeccaH
Serious Sweet | A. L. Kennedy
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Booker long list #11!

shawnmooney Look at you go! 8y
RebeccaH About two weeks until the short list!! @shawnmooney 8y
shawnmooney I think I absolutely must read Szalay in September, and maybe sneak Hot Milk in as well on audio. 8y
See All 9 Comments
JenP This wasn't one of my favorites. I have one more to go (Coetzee). I am curious to see what you think of this one. Which has been so favorite so far? 8y
RebeccaH My favorites have been Eileen and The Sellout. They go on my personal shortlist for sure. @JenP 8y
JenP @RebeccaH interesting! The sellout will make my shortlist too. I didn't love Eileen but I may be in the minority since I've seen it get great reviews. What do you have left? 8y
RebeccaH Only the Kennedy, the Coetzee, and Hystopia. Almost there!! Not everyone on my shadow panel loved Eileen either. 8y
RebeccaH @JenP 8y
JenP @RebeccaH wow, congrats! 8y
33 likes1 stack add9 comments
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RebeccaH
RebeccaH
Serious Sweet | A. L. Kennedy
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All the Booker books currently in my house.

MrBook #NiceStack! 8y
BkClubCare I wish I lived next door to you. #creepy? 8y
RebeccaH Ha, ha, not at all @BkClubCare ! 8y
39 likes3 comments
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manbookerprize
manbookerprize
Serious Sweet | A. L. Kennedy
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Here‘s our Man Booker Prize 2016 judges‘ thoughts on longlisted book Serious Sweet by A.L. Kennedy!

'Serious Sweet moves through London with lyrical observation and searing humanity.'

#ManBooker2016 #FinestFiction

25 likes8 stack adds
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JenP
JenP
Serious Sweet | A. L. Kennedy
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I'm 1/3 in and it's been kind up up and down for me. I've laughed out loud one chapter only to find the next chapter kind of depressing. I love parts of it and find other parts a tad dry and tedious.

JenP *kind of up... 8y
6 likes1 comment
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JenP
JenP
Serious Sweet | A. L. Kennedy
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Seriously funny! Part of the second chapter involves a scene with the protagonist thinking about the cake she needs to bring to work and stressing about it. Had me in tears as she cursed the cake.

6 likes1 stack add