It’s 2019, and no one knows that it’s the end of an era. A group of mostly queer friends and acquaintances step into the hottest weekend of the year, each one guarding secrets that threatens to change their lives. The kaleidoscopic structure of ‘Evenings and Weekend’s is both its strength and its weakness. It’s easy to feel close to the characters, as you know what each one is thinking and feeling. But an interwoven narrative can easily get tangled, especially when McKenna throws in perspectives from irrelevant side characters whose arcs go nowhere at all. As fun and moving as this book is, anyone who’s apathetic or hostile towards London shouldn’t touch it with a barge pole. It captures the specific time and place really well, but I understand how the constant name-dropping of London areas could be obnoxious to anyone who doesn’t live there. MG

Published by Fourth Estate