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.
