''A Week in December'' is a novel by British writer

Sebastian Faulks Sebastian Charles Faulks (born 20 April 1953) is a British novelist, journalist and broadcaster. He is best known for his historical novels set in France – '' The Girl at the Lion d'Or'', ''Birdsong'' and '' Charlotte Gray''. He has also pub ...

, published in 2009. The story is set in London, England over a week in December 2007.

Plot

The book begins with the elaborate seating plan of a dinner party. It ends once that dinner party has taken place. Sophie, the wife of a newly elected Member of Parliament, must decide whom to place where. Several of the protagonists are present at the dinner, and the storylines are, to a large extent, tied up as a result of what occurs there. In the course of the book the reader is introduced to John Veals, a

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trader who is arguably the most important character. He is a ruthless businessman, whose immense fortune seems to have become meaningless. He is more interested in the chase, the challenge of acquiring more and more capital. As he embarks on one of the riskiest deals of his life, his family is about to be torn apart. But does he even care? An unsuccessful

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

is assigned to represent a young female

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driver; a Scottish

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is drawn into a radical group, while a

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literature student looks on; a Polish

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tries hard to adapt to life in a

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team, while his Russian model girlfriend adjusts to life in London. A pickle millionaire enlists the help of R. Tranter, novelist and critic, to prepare for his meeting with the Queen when he receives his

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Themes

The book's peripheral characters play an important part in the general theme of the book. Life for John's wife, in particular, is lonely and boring. John can't engage with her at any level, her children are mysterious teenagers and she feels isolated. She and her circle of friends measure each other on how rich or how thin they are. Radley Graves, a

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

teacher, becomes dangerously entangled in the fantasy world of "Parallax" the

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game where his character is a sexually aggressive bully. Amanda can't let go of the past, when she used to ''rule the roost'' in London now stuck in the country with her alcoholic husband Roger, she can't wait to get back at the least opportunity. The novel touches on themes that are issues that we face every day: mental illness, terrorism,

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, and a sense of trying to survive in a world of madness, consumerism and greed. Although the novel explores grim reality, there is hope, and love, a thin seam, but nonetheless, still there.

External links

Guardian reviewReview in the Sunday TimesBBC video clip of the author discussing his book
Novels by Sebastian Faulks 2009 British novels Fiction set in 2007 Novels set in London Hutchinson (publisher) books {{2000s-novel-stub