Episode 32 - Sloane Crosley: Part 2

The second part of my conversation with Sloane Crosley about her debut novel The Clasp began with us discussing how books give bookish young people a map for their lives. ----more---- Crosley read a passage from the novel - in which poor Victor prepares for being beaten up by meditating on just this sort of idea. We then moved onto:

• age, maturity and Don DeLillo's White Noise
• Crosley's love of The Dubliners and the story, 'Araby'
• how a desire to be funny and, separately, The Secret Garden inspired Crosley to write
• comedy: light and dark, joyful and sad
  
• 'I want to write something that's fun. I want to entertain'
• fiction, money, expanding horizons
• what next - essays or that album of ukulele music
• why Crosley is not a crime novelist
  

Read my review of The Clasp in The Independent: here.