Fallout: A Novel

Written by Sadie Jones

Narrated by Steve West

Sadie Jones, the award winning, bestselling author of The Uninvited Guests and The Outcast, explores the theater of love, the politics of theater, and the love of writing in this deeply romantic story about a young playwright in 1970s London.

Leaving behind an emotionally disastrous childhood in a provincial northern town, budding playwright Luke Kanowski begins a new life in London that includes Paul Driscoll, an aspiring producer who will become his best friend, and Leigh Radley, Paul's girlfriend. Talented and ambitious, the trio found a small theater company that enjoys unexpected early success. Then, one fateful evening, Luke meets Nina Jacobs, a dynamic and emotionally damaged actress he cannot forget, even after she drifts into a marriage with a manipulative theater producer.

As Luke becomes a highly sought after playwright, he stumbles in love, caught in two triangles where love requited and unrequited, friendship, and art will clash with terrible consequences for all involved.

Fallout is an elegantly crafted novel whose characters struggle to escape the various cataclysms of their respective pasts. Falling in love convinces us we are the pawns of the gods; Fallout brings us firmly into the psyche of romantic love—its sickness and its ecstasy.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperAudio
• Release date: Apr 29, 2014
• ISBN: 9780062292841

Sadie Jones

Sadie Jones is the author of five novels, including The Outcast, winner of the Costa First Novel Award in Great Britain and a finalist for the Orange Prize for Fiction and the Los Angeles TimesBook Prize/Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction; the enchanting, hard-hitting novel set on the island of Cyprus during the British occupation, Small Wars; her most successful, bestselling novel The Uninvited Guests, beloved of Ann Patchett and Jackie Winspear, among other; the romantic novel set in London's glamorous theatre world, Fallout; and most recently, the highly acclaimed, bestselling novel, The Snakes. Sadie Jones lives in London.  

Reviews for Fallout

[adonisguilfoyle · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This novel had been lurking in my Amazon wishlist for ages before the price finally dropped - and I'm glad I didn't pay full price. I can't even remember why I wanted to read it, but I still feel slightly let down. Some sort of love triangle between a bunch of horrible, bland characters in the 1970s might have worked, only nothing really came of the whole story. Sadie Jones captures the era well, with some lovely descriptive passages, but I couldn't stand Luke, the 'attractive genius' who has all the girls falling for him - I imagined him to be a sort of wishy Ben Whishaw type - and could make neither head nor tail of the opening chapters, hinting at a sort of 'star cross'd' attraction between Luke and Nina. Reminded me too much of Nick Hornby's Funny Girl, which completely missed the mark for me too.

[stephengoldenberg · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I can't remember what made me put this on my 'to read' list. Some good reviews, the popularity of the writer's previous novels? Most likely it was the setting in London's fringe theatres of the early 1970s. And Sadie Jones does a good job of bringing to life that particular time and place. The problem is that this is just not my type of book. I had very little interest in what seemed to be fairly shallow characters (I was unconvinced by their artistic creativity, especially Luke's supposedly ground-breaking plays) and found their intertwined sexual relationships interminable.
However, I wouldn't want to put off other potential readers of this basically well written book who might find it more their cup of tea.

[ridgewaygirl · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Sadie Jones's new novel hit me at just the right angle. I fell in love with this book about English theater in the early seventies, when everything was changing. It's the story of three young people who become close friends, opening a theatre together in the rooms above a pub. Paul wants to be a producer, Leigh is the stage manager, and Luke does a little of everything, while he writes plays in his spare time. There's a lot here about the inner workings of plays, described in a way that was both understandable to the layman and utterly absorbing. But at it's heart, Fallout is a character-driven book. Luke, the son of a taciturn Polish father and a mother who has been in a mental asylum since he was five, is desperate to belong, and he finds security in his friendships with Leigh and Paul. But then he meets Nina, an insecure actress who was raised by a controlling and abusive mother. Paul is an oldest son and he feels his father's disapproval for his uncertain career. And Leigh just wants to work in the field, but not as an actress and she demands that people treat her work with the same respect they'd give a man. She's down to earth, and she steadies both Paul and Luke. They are all in their early twenties, living on their own for the first time, both excited and terrified of the careers they've chosen to pursue. Fallout is also about London in the 1970s, when social constrictions were loosening, but only so far, and new plays were being written that wanted to say something, co-existing with sex farces designed to take advantage of the new openness toward stage nudity and Shakespeare's eternal presence.

[c.archer · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I picked this book out mainly for the cover from my local library. I hadn't heard of it nor had I read any of the author's previous novels. I'm really glad that I took the chance since this was the best book of the three that I chose that day."Fallout" is a very well-written story about youth and the challenges of making your way in life. Three young people who met randomly wind up becoming roommates and business partners. They struggle to make their mark in the world of London theater in the 1970's. The background of each is as different as the individuals, and it all adds up to create give and take in their relationships with each other. Their successes come at a price with each suffering loss in some way. I found it to be a complex story and very pleasurable to read. I thought the workings of the writing and theater production were very interesting as was the time period. All together, it was a fascinating story that was a pleasant surprise.

[jo3jo_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was my first experience with Sadie Jones as she delivers a story that puts us right in the middle of the theater scene in 1970s London. All the dynamics of this novel came together so nicely as our characters strive for a career in the theater while trying to balance relationships at the same time. Luke is our main character and it was inspiring to watch his dreams be realized throughout the book.As the story opens Luke is a young man living with his father and working at a full-time job. Luke's life has turned into a life of normalcy, with no surprises to look forward to. This all changes when one dark, rainy night he runs into Leigh and Paul. When they learn they have a common interest, love of the theater, a friendship blooms instantly. Coming from London, Paul and Leigh are regulars to the theater, while Luke has only had the opportunity to read the plays up to this point. When they go their separate ways after this first meeting, the theater will reunite them in the near future. When Luke, Leigh, and Paul, meet up again in London, they live and breathe theater. Each of them have a different talent they contribute to the artistic scene. Although Luke and Leigh seem to have a romantic connection, Luke stands aside, allowing Paul to pursue a relationship with her. After realizing Leigh is unattainable for him, he sets his sights on Nina, a beautiful and talented young actress. We start to wonder if Luke will ever find true love when he learns that Nina is married to someone who is very influential in the theater scene.I hope you don't think that I have given too much of the story away by describing the love triangles, but the romantic relationships within the pages of this book are just one small part of the novel in it's entirety. I am not an avid theater attendee myself, but I had no problem following the language and descriptions within this book. The writing flowed nicely and always had me wanting to get back to reading it after I set it down. I do feel that Jones did a great job of portraying the times of this book, and a more conservative reader may not appreciate that. With themes of love, dreams, and theater, I don't hesitate in recommending this book for either personal leisure or as a book club selection.