Their Lips Talk of Mischief by Alan Warner
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Blurb: Alan Warner’s first novel with Faber is a darkly comic tale of hope and humanity against the grim urban and political landscape of Margaret Thatcher’s Britain (Faber & Faber)
Robert McCrum, The Observer
“The best parts of Their Lips Talk of Mischief, especially Lou’s midwinter wedding to Aoife in Ealing town hall, a brilliant set-piece, have the intensity of a fine short story. It’s a shame that these elements, exceptional on their own terms, don’t quite cohere into a novel.”
Justin Cartwright, The Financial Times
“We are aware right from the off that Warner is determined to write something original. The result is a slight tendency to over-reach, but he soon settles down to deploy his many talents. We also realise quite quickly that the book can be read as metafiction: it is largely about writing and literary references are scattered throughout … Their Lips Talk of Mischief is moving, funny, richly peopled and written with great gusto.”
Stephen Poole, The Guardian
“For all the boisterous comedy of chemical and other adventures in Thatcherite slumland (there is a particularly excellent scene where Douglas guides Lou and Aoife through their first acid trip), this craftily engineered and winningly nostalgic novel is at last a story of lost illusions.”
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