Canadian Writers - Is There a Feeling That You're Not Canadian?

3min Snip

00:00

Play full episode

Summary

Transcript

Episode notes

In france there is this genre that doesn't really exist here called polar. So it's everything from vaguely atmospheric literary fiction, a with kind of like a slight noir tinge to it,. In what country do you think you're most popular per capidai'm probably the u.S. Not canada. I've been short listed for major american awards, but there are three big awarrts in can Canada every yearand i've never even made the long list. Ye, i had a wicopaedia page in france long before i had one in the u. S. It's definitely a better career in the us....

When Tyler requested an interview with novelist Emily St. John Mandel, he didn’t expect that reality would have in some ways become an eerie mirror of her latest books. And Emily didn’t expect that it’d be boosting sales: “Why would anybody in their right mind want to read Station Eleven during a pandemic?” she wondered to Tyler. Her reaction was pure bafflement until she found herself renting Contagion and thought about why. “There’s just such a longing in times of uncertainty to see how it ends.” Narratives, especially familiar ones, soothe us. It’s fitting then that her latest book has been suggested as “the perfect novel for your survival bunker.”

She joined Tyler to discuss The Glass Hotel, including why more white-collar criminals don’t flee before arrest, the Post Secret postcard that haunts her most, the best places to hide from the Russian mob, the Canadian equivalent of the “Florida Man”, whether trophy wives are happy, how to slow down time, why she disagrees with Kafka on reading, the safest place to be during a global pandemic, how to get away with faking your own death, how A Canticle for Leibowitz influenced her writing, the permeability of moral borders, what surprised her about experiencing a real pandemic, how her background in contemporary dance makes her a better writer, adapting The Glass Hotel for a miniseries, her contrarian take on Frozen II, and more.

Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video.

Recorded March 27th, 2020 Other ways to connect

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram
Follow Tyler on Twitter
Follow Emily on Twitter
Email us: cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu
Subscribe at our newsletter page to have the latest Conversations with Tyler news sent straight to your inbox.