We discuss her new book, Weather, on the Granta Podcast.
‘Yes, it's dire. Yes, we're not sure what to do. Does that mean we have nothing to do?’
In the first episode of our new series, Jenny Offill, author of Dept. of Speculation, talks to editor Josie Mitchell about about her new novel, Weather. They discuss pre-apocalypse warnings, the doomers among us, and the draws of prepper culture in a world gone mad.
We also recommend an interview between Jenny and Mark O’Connell, author of Notes from an Apocalypse.
Image © Emily Tobey
‘I think there should be a National Service of Hospitality. The best way to see the true face of humanity is to serve it a plate of chips.’
Camilla Grudova on bad-mannered customers.
‘Anyone who has ever worked night shifts will understand the vertiginous feeling that comes with staring down the day from the wrong end.’
A.K. Blakemore on working nights.
‘I was constantly reading job ads, trying to find my holy grail – a job I could stand to do, and someone foolish enough to hire me.’
Sandra Newman on learning how to play professional blackjack.
‘I loved being a receptionist. What I loved about it was playing the part of being a receptionist.’
Emily Berry on being a temporary office worker.
‘Every part of you would swell, including your eyeballs, and no matter how much water you drank, you were always dehydrated.’
Junot Díaz on working for a steel mill.
‘This isn’t the end of the world. It’s history going about its business. This isn’t the last apocalypse by a long shot.’
Jenny Offill, author of Weather, talks to Mark O’Connell, author of Notes from the Apocalypse.
Jenny Offill, author of Dept. of Speculation, shares five things she’s reading, watching and thinking about.
‘We hated the tourists, but they were the reason we had jobs.’
Rachael Allen on working in a fish and chip shop in Cornwall.
‘This set of characters are simultaneously medieval kings and modern aristocrats.’
Allen Bratton on adapting the Henriad and his debut novel Henry Henry.
