Small Boat: Vincent Delecroix on Asylum, Responsibility & the Limits of Sympathy

This month, we’re tackling one of the most urgent issues of our time, the question of migration across borders. Small Boat is a stunning and provocative novel that is inspired by the real-life tragedy of 27 asylum seekers who drowned in the English Channel in 2021. Rather than tell the story through the perspective of the victims, Small Boat is narrated by the French radio operator who failed to send help. It’s an audacious and uncomfortable choice – and that’s exactly the point. 

In this episode, Dua speaks with Vincent about moral responsibility, the challenge of maintaining empathy at a time of great political polarisation, and the dangers of becoming desensitised to human suffering. They talk about his choice to centre the story around an ambivalent protagonist, and how fiction can make us face uncomfortable truths. 

The novel doesn’t offer easy answers. Instead, it holds a mirror up to us, asking what we would do, what we’ve done, and what it means to look away. As Dua says, this book doesn’t let you off the hook – and it’s one everyone should read. 

Buy the book at Bookshop.org, Waterstones, and Barnes & Noble  

 
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