Fallout

**** As read on BBC Radio 4 Book at Bedtime **** Luke is a young playwright: intense, magnetic and hungry for experience. Fleeing a disastrous upbringing in the North East he arrives in London and shares a flat with Paul, an aspiring producer, and beautiful, fiery Leigh. The three of them set up a radical theatre company, their friendship forged in rehearsal rooms above pubs, candlelit power cuts, and smoky late-night parties, part of a thrilling new generation of writers, directors and rising voices. When Nina, a fragile actress, strays towards their group, Luke recognises a damaged soul and the balance between the friends is threatened. Luke is torn between loyalty, desire and his own painful past, until everything he values, even the promise of the future, is in danger. Suddenly the fallout threatens to be immense. A story of four young people in 1970s’ London fuelled by love, betrayal and creative ambition - now available as an audiobook.

About the Author :
Sadie Jones is the critically acclaimed author of six novels. Her first, The Outcast, won the Costa First Novel Award, was shortlisted for the Orange Prize, and was a Richard and Judy Number One bestseller. Her second, Small Wars, 2009, was longlisted for the Orange Prize. The Uninvited Guests, was published in 2010. Also a screenwriter, Sadie adapted The Outcast for BBC Television in 2014, directed by Iain Softley and starring George Mackay. Her fourth novel, Fallout, came out the same year, and her fifth, The Snakes in 2019. Her sixth novel, Amy and Lan, was published in July 2022. Sadie is the daughter of the Jamaican screenwriter, novelist and poet, Evan Jones, and British actress, Joanna Jones. She was born and brought up in London, and is married to the architect, Tim Boyd.

Review :
An intoxicating and immersive read... It is a fraught and compelling novel; one that replays itself uncomfortably in the mind long after it is finished Intense... Ms Jones is unflinching as she plots the course of fallout with no shelter, of wounded lives undone by desperation in love and art Written with a precision and a level of descriptive subtlety that puts her up there with our foremost novelists. I can't help but feel that if she had been born Samuel Jones she would already be considered on a par with the Barneses and McEwans of this parish... Fallout is crafted with a pared-back delicacy and attention to detail that shows an author determined to do better with every sentence. And at the same time, there is an intensity of focus, a merciless yet empathetic gaze directed towards each of the main characters that ensures we care deeply about each of them Hugely enjoyable... Fallout is both deliciously gobble-able and carefully constructed... A thoroughly pleasurable read An intelligent, pacy tale... Every summer needs a One Day-style read; this book is a contender for that crown Absorbing and romantic... Will drag you in and keep you there until the very last page Life-enhancing and compelling An emotionally charged fourth novel from Jones Cements her reputation as a writer in the style of William Boyd: able to take on a variety of styles and mould them to her own voice Jones has artfully captured the era and the febrile atmosphere of London theatreland