Reading guide: Last Orders by Graham Swift
Four men reflect on their pasts as they say a final goodbye to their close friend
Monthly Spotlight: Last Orders by Graham Swift
Sorrow and resentment mingle with passion and regret in Graham Swift’s Booker Prize-winning novel
British author Graham Swift won the Booker Prize in 1996 with his novel Last Orders.
Swift has published 11 novels, three short-story collections and one work of non-fiction. Four of his novels have been adapted into films.
Last Orders follows four men as they gather at a London pub and then travel together to Margate to carry out the last wishes of their friend, Jack Dodds, and deliver his ashes into the sea.
As they embark on their journey, each of the men reflects on their past experiences, from fighting in the Second World War to work, marriage and fatherhood.
On the surface a simple tale of an increasingly bizarre day out, the novel explores the complexity and courage of ordinary lives.
Winner The Booker Prize 1996
- By
- Graham Swift
- Published by
- Picador
Sorrow and resentment mingle with passion and regret in Graham Swift’s Booker Prize-winning novel
