London Review Bookshop Podcast

Geoff Dyer & Gareth Evans: Homework

Jan 28, 2026
Geoff Dyer, a prolific British writer known for his inventive essays and fiction, reads from and reflects on his memoir Homework. He explores memory, class and postwar life in provincial England. Conversations range across childhood scenes, the 11-plus, education and family dynamics. The talk touches on photography, narrative limits and how social change reshaped opportunity.
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ANECDOTE

Empty Front Room As Family Symbol

  • Geoff describes the unused front room and its cocktail cabinet as symbols of restrained abundance in his childhood home.
  • The room's emptiness amplified family habits and the era's emerging consumer surplus.
INSIGHT

Frugality Feels Like Freedom

  • Geoff realises his parents practised a frugal, sustainable approach to consumption before it became fashionable.
  • He values that restraint as freedom from status-driven spending later in life.
ANECDOTE

Old Teen Writings Became Source Material

  • Geoff kept teenage writings full of childhood scenes and used them as detailed source material decades later.
  • Early amateur attempts helped him recover precise memories for the memoir's scenes.
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