Opening hours Gallery: Wednesday to Sunday 12–5pm

Novel Writers: Jesse Armstrong

Love, Sex and Other Foreign Policy Goals

Novel Writers: Jesse Armstrong

Love, Sex and Other Foreign Policy Goals

Novel Writers at Spike Island: Jesse Armstrong

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From one of England’s most lauded comedy writers, Love, Sex, and Other Foreign Policy Goals is a satiric, absurd, and laugh-out-loud romp about tenderhearted, misguided dilettantes traveling through war-torn Europe, with nothing but a half-written script to protect them.

It’s 1994, and war rages on in Yugoslavia–Sarajevo is under siege, and Bosnia’s different ethnic groups are battling for control of the newly independent country. Hundreds of miles away, in a posh dining room in west London, Andrew is in a similarly precarious situation: the fine balancing act of breathing, blinking, and sipping champagne at the same time. Penny, who may be the love of his life, is about to make the Great Announcement to her parents: that she, Andrew, and a handful of other young idealists are headed to Bosnia to stop the war by performing peace plays from the back of their van. But more important than peace–does Penny like Andrew, too? Or does she like Simon, who Andrew concedes is “essentially me, only better”? Will this trip across Europe finally bring them together, or will Andrew die in a minefield? And just how long will it take the gang to figure out that Andrew does not, in fact, speak Serbo-Croat?

“The co-writer of Peep Show and The Thick of It has written a bravura debut novel about a student theatre troupe’s mission to Bosnia during the 90s war. ” – Zoe Williams, The Guardian

Novel Writers

Each month we invite a debut novelist to read from and talk about their work in an informal setting. Prior knowledge of the text is not essential. Topics of discussion include theme, structure, inspiration and the craft of writing. These sessions are a great way to discover new writing talent and great books.

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