"I think the knee-jerk reaction to pandemic literature — that I think a lot of readers might have as well, I don't want to read that because it's going to be triggering, it's going to be about, you know, CDC scientists brushing against the clock — there are actually very few pandemic novels that I can think of that actually operate on that level. They're thinking about Hollywood, probably, and not about literature. Most plague literature that I can think of, or dystopian literature generally, is about hope. It's about relationships, and family and the tiny little movements that occur in the wake of some sort of tragedy, the search for connection."

Sequoia Nagamatsu's novel-in-stories, How High We Go in the Dark, is an absolute delight, even when the darkness shows (think Sea of Tranquility or Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel or Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell). He joins us on the show to talk about hope and love and grief, being a Bad Asian, music (and other soundtracks) connecting characters and story points, what surprised him as he was writing, his literary inspirations (starting with Italo Calvino) and more with Poured Over's host, Miwa Messer. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Becky. Featured Books (Episode):

How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu

The Dead Fish Museum by Charles D'Ambrosio

Featured Books (TBR Topoff):

On Such a Full Sea by Chang-rae Lee

Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr

Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays).