Their Lips Talk of Mischief

2016 Longlist

High up in the Conrad Flats that loom bleakly over Acton, two future stars of the literary scene – or so they assume – are hard at work, tapping out words of wit and brilliance between ill-paid jobs writing captions for the Cat Calendar 1985 and blurbs for trashy novels with titles like Brothel of the Vampire. Just twenty-one but already well entrenched in a life eked out on dole payments, pints and dollops of porridge and pasta, Llewellyn and Cunningham don’t have it too bad: a pub on the corner, a misdirected parental allowance, and the delightful company of Aoife, Llewellyn’s model fiancée, mother of his young baby – and the woman of Cunningham’s increasingly vivid dreams.

(from publisher)

About the Author

Alan Warner is the author of seven previous novels: Morvern Callar, which was made into a film starring Samantha Morton, These Demented Lands, The Sopranos, The Man Who Walks, The Worms Can Carry Me To Heaven, The Stars in the Bright Sky, which was longlisted for the 2010 Man Booker Prize, and The Deadman’s Pedal, which won the 2013 James Tait Black Prize.

Librarian’s Comments

Brilliant dialogue, description and characterisation in this very funny story of two young would-be writers in Thatcher’s Britain. In all the hilarity there is a strong streak of darkness.