JANUARY’S BOOK OF THE MONTH
Thanks to everyone who picked up a copy and read along with us this month! This apocalyptic novel is set partly in 2017 and partly in 2041. The earlier action centres on Signe, a Norwegian journalist in her 60s. The futuristic story is set in drought-stricken France, where David and his little girl Lou are climate change refugees. This isn’t a cheerful read. David is not always likeable, Signe is lost in the past and the book’s central message is disturbing. However, this is also a love story; one that shows the capacity of humans to care for each other, so there are glimmers of hope to be found in its darkness. I used to read apocalyptic novels and think of them as fantasy, but that has changed as we become increasingly worried about global warming and how it’ll affect us in the near future. Fantasy suddenly seems far closer to reality and so this book is an anxiety-inducing read. And from your feedback, it sounds as though the majority of you had very similar feelings about this book.
She is one of the most successful Irish novelists of all time. She has struggled with alcoholism and, more recently, a period of crippling depression. Now 56, she lives in Dublin with husband Tony Baines.
This is her 14th novel.
On her depression: “I really, really thought I’d never be able to write again. I had long months of catatonic, unable-to-get-out-ofbedness, and then long months of incredible fear, in the grip of panic. It felt like I’d landed on another planet and it was horrific. I was just so frightened all the time.”
On how being funny helps: “Humour has always been a survival mechanism for me. I started writing short stories just before I went into rehab for my alcoholism in 1993, at the age of 30. When I came out of rehab I started submitting my writing to publishers. Previously, I had used alcohol to kill unpleasant emotions, but to be funny is easier for me than anything else, and it offers a different antidote to hopelessness. I’ve been sober for 25 years now.”
On her writing routine:
“I write in my spare bedroom from 9am until 1pm. In the afternoon I’ll either be writing an article, or doing research or publicity. I finish at 6pm and take weekends off.”