Serious Sweet by A.L. Kennedy

This is one of the titles on The Man Booker Prize 2016 longlist (shortlist announced 15th October, winner announced 24th October). I try to read at least one of the titles each year. Last year I read A Little Life - I thought it was going to win, it was shockingly (literally) brilliant. Alas (for me), the winner was A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James. Unfortunately for me, the one book I chose to read from the longlist I did not enjoy at all. There were too many things that annoyed me which spoiled it for me. It didn't help that I really didn't like one of the main characters, Jon. But let me tell you a brief outline of the story.

It's set in London over a 24-hour period. It is Friday 10th April. Jon Sigurdsson is 59, divorced, works for the government as some sort of spindoctor for one of the ministers (I think), and he is a very anxious, worrisome person. He was not shown love by his mother when he was young - he was sent off to boarding school, then Cambridge - then he was made a fool of by his wife, Valerie (she was an adulteress). This lack of love has affected him throughout his life, he doesn't feel worthy of anyone's love, thinks he'll mess it up, so he's afraid of entering into another relationship. He discovers a way of showing love to a person without having to actually meet them. He advertises his services as a letter writer to women who need to feel loved and wanted. He collects responses from a PO Box address in Mayfair. He has a very low opinion of himself, and work colleagues seem to hold the same view of him also. He is losing faith with the meaning of his work - so much so that he pays regular visits to the Natural History Museum and leaves secret notes with state secrets to a journalist.

Meg Williams is 45 years old, lives on Telegraph Hill, works at an animal shelter in the admin office. She is a recovering alcoholic, is paranoid, and she suffers bouts of depression - so much so, she was disappointed if she were to wake up in the morning. She attends support groups. She is foul-tempered and foul-mouthed. But we get a sense that she is trying to get her life back together. She goes to the cinema, regularly watches the sunrise on the Hill, and has answered an ad for receiving letters. She decides to reply to one of the letters, saying in the letter "I have what you write in my head all the time. It's sweet. It's serious and sweet."

So the story is set up with Jon and Meg, each only just coping with living their own lives, and suddenly finding themselves thrown together. Will their relationship survive? 

A lot more goes on in the 24 hours than just their relationship - in fact their actual being together is a very short part of the book. Which is a shame really, as that was the part I was enjoying the most. Seeing how these two troubled minds acted when together. The rest of the story is about their state of minds, their parents, Jon's daughter, and a great deal of Jon's work, which I found rather boring. Also, when Jon talks about his feelings, he stammers, mumbles, stumbles, and never finishes his sentences. I was getting furious with that! When he was talking about his job, he spoke eloquently without a stumble. I guess this was showing how vulnerable he was when it came to close relationships and his feelings. He just can't cope. I was pleased at one point when even Meg, who's had a dreadful and tumultuous past herself, tells him in her own sweet way to get a grip!

It doesn't surprise me that this title is on the longlist. It is the sort of literary fiction that book prizes just adore. But not me. Too rambling, with an annoying character with a boring job. It'll probably win.