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On this episode we speak to Adelle Stripe about her incredible memoir Base Notes. Published by White Rabbit and described perfectly by Wendy Erskine as ‘a marvel of specificity,’ it is everything you’d expect if you’ve read any of Adelle’s previous work. Open, kind and often very funny, it is a deeply humane book and one written with the clear economy of a poet. 

There are small town break outs, serendipitous strangers, sex line stints and New York hustle but there's no spoilers here. More than anything Base Notes is a book filled with a sense of enduring love and a life lived seizing opportunity. It's true gift to the reader; because at it’s best, (and Base Notes is definitely that), memoir is a reminder that we’re really all just making it up as we go a long and, if anything, that should only bring us closer together. 

‘Adelle’s writing has a rare verve, giving vivid evocations of times, places and scents. It’s got both style and warmth and made me cry. I loved this rock and roll spirit coming out of small-town Yorkshire.’

Amy Liptrot

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On this episode we meet novelist Omar El Akkad to discuss One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This. Published by Canongate (27.02 - UK) it is a powerful meditation on what it means to live in the heart of an empire, an indictment of Western complicity in the ongoing genocide of Palestinians and an exploration of the hypocrisies on which we build our lives.

Drawing from Omar’s own journalistic experience reporting on years of the ‘War on Terror,’ and the migration of his childhood, this book chronicles a painful realisation of all that keeps power in place. It is a searing critique of Western government and media, a demand to pause and bear witness and a refusal of an assembly line approach to injustice

At a time when so many are struggling to find voice at the state of the world, it is that most important thing - a coherent articulation of rage. But, as the title suggests, Omar’s is an argument, that despite deep uncertainty, asks us to consider a future too.

‘Each generation looks back in judgement, and sometimes in horror, at the moral blind spots of earlier generations and previous ages. To get a glimpse of how we in the early 21st century might one day be judged for our passivity and hypocrisy, I urge you to read Omar El Akkad’s astonishing book.’

David Olusoga

‘I can’t think of a more important piece of writing to read right now. Doom and gloom and unspeakable horror abound and overwhelm these days, but it remains important to understand what we already know is happening now and how it will be understood in the future. It helps when we feel helpless to give our time and attention, our hearts and consideration to a voice like this, a book like this, from our particular time and for it.’

Tommy Orange

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We catch up with Elaine Garvey to discuss her wonderful debut novel The Wardrobe Department. Set in the early 2000s and written with a disarming first hand delivery, it is the story of Mairéad, a young Irish theatre professional who’s come to London in a bid to pursue a career backstage. Caught between an acute homesickness for the Ireland of her imagination and a gruelling work life, Mairéad is adrift and unable to make a home in either place. When an urgent call to return home comes she is forced both to reckon with her past and choose her present. 

At its heart The Wardrobe Department is a deft exploration of power and the cost of breaking free. A recognition of damage  handed from one generation to the next and a refusal to be silent.  An acceptance that resolution is often ill-fitting and unexpected but resolution nonetheless.   

‘Elaine Garvey is a tremendous new talent in Irish writing - I’m certain the reader will recognise within half a page that she is the real thing.’

Kevin Barry 

‘At once familiar and surprising, knotty and tender, tough and beguiling.’ 

Lisa McInerney 

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First published in Italian three years ago Vincenzo Latronico’s Perfection is brought to an English speaking readership for the first time by Fitzcarraldo who publish Sophie Hughes’ exceptional translation on February 13th.

Taking inspiration from George Perec’s - Things, A Story of The Sixties,  Perfection is the story of Anna and Tom, an Italian couple living a carefully curated life in Berlin as freelance graphic designers. The novel purposefully remains on the surface of their lives, never letting us into Anna or Tom’s thoughts - and the effect is uncannily familiar - we almost scroll through the chapters, an eerie sense of recognition rising. 

At it’s heart, Perfection questions the corrupting individualism that we are relentlessly sold. It documents both the search for a lost authenticity and the reactionary response which that search engenders. And, ultimately, it portrays both the undefinable lack at the heart of modern life and the self delusion that lack necessitates.

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On this episode we speak to Orlando Reade about What in Me is Dark; his exploration of the radical life of Paradise Lost. Within it, the author considers the relationship between the poem and some of the writers and revolutionaries who have drawn inspiration from it over the centuries since its writing. From Mary Shelley to Malcolm X the influence of Milton’s epic is as far reaching as the poet hoped it to be, but in intriguingly contradictory ways. What in Me Is Dark is an accessible and dynamic reappraisal of Paradise Lost which opens up the poem’s central themes of freedom and consequence both for first time readers of Milton’s work and those who know it well.

'If we ever needed a lesson about the challenges of freedom it is now.'
Lyndsey Stonebridge, author of 'We Are Free To Change The World.'

'Wonderfully written, intelligent and moving.'
Leah Redmond Chang, author of 'Young Queens.'

'Orlando Reade writes with exhilarating style, luminous clarity and irreverent wit.'
Anna Della Subin, author of 'Accidental Gods.'

If you've enjoyed the pod this year, why not subscribe to never miss an episode and leave us a review or rating. 

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Another gem from the mighty Rough Trade Books on this episode. This time round we hear from the wonderful Jen Calleja on her latest book Goblinhood, a compelling patchwork of pop culture, family histories and poetics that sets out Jen’s theory of ‘goblin’ as a mode.  What at first appears a dizzying and at times disparate array of references soon emerge as a map of behaviours; the false starts, foolish consistencies, safe spaces and new beginnings we all share. Part memoir, part reckoning, Goblinhood is a formally inventive, daring and playful collection of essays,  one that ultimately seeks to identify the forces which make puppets of us all. 

Upcoming: What In Me is Dark by Orlando Reade

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On this episode we hear from Rebecca Smith about Rural; her account of the lives of the working class countryside. Weaving in her own family’s history as foresters, miners, millworkers and more, Rural sees Rebecca explore stories of the countryside that are often overlooked. The role of tied housing, the precarious nature of farming and the destructive power of Airbnb all feature in a book for anyone interested in the future of rural Britain.

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On this episode we speak to Alejandro Zambra about his latest book, Childish Literature; a chronicle of early fatherhood. Written in a 'state of attachment', it is a beautiful collection of roaming essays, poetry and short stories - that show how the birth and growth of a child changes not only the present and the future but also reshapes our perceptions of the past. 

We also hear from Alejandro's close friend and translator Megan McDowell on the process of their working relationship and her role in bringing this graceful, funny and poignant account of parenthood into being.

'Every beat and pattern of being alive becomes revelatory and bright when narrated by Alejandro Zambra. He is a modern wonder.' 
Rivka Galchen, author of Everyone Knows Your Mother is a Witch 

Childish Literature is published by Fitzcarraldo  

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Two suitably spooky novels on this episode.

First up, Erin E. Adams and her debut, Jackal. Published in the UK by Dead Ink Books and set in  contemporary Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Jackal is the story of one woman’s determination to uncover the truth around the disappearance of a number of young black girls. A taught, psychological thriller, Erin’s skill is undoubtedly in underscoring the existent horror within US society today. 

'A tight, thought provoking novel that transcends genre'
Los Angeles Review of Books

'Erin E.Adams makes me proud to be a psychological thriller writer.'
Gillian Flynn

Then, Edith Holler. Set at the turn of the 20th century, within the confines of the Holler theatre in Norwich this the story of 12 year old Edith and her bloody battles with the sinister figure of Mawther Meg. Cursed to never leave the theatre and in thrall to her own domineering father, it is the tale of a young writer finding her own voice and a deeply personal love letter to the arts.

'Umissable'
Olga Tokarczuk

'Delightful, eccentric, heartfelt, surprising, philosophical.'
Eleanor Catton

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On this episode we speak to poet Raymond Antrobus about his recently published collection Signs, Music. Comprised of two extended sequences Signs, Music centres on both the imminence and the realisation of a new and overwhelming love. At times compulsive, at others reflective it captures the trepidation and courage of early parenthood.

But, more than that, Signs, Music asks us to consider the worlds we create for each other, to question the conditions we place on the love that we offer and to somehow re-find the wonder we once had for the world when we were children ourselves.

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