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ALICE MUNRO Canadian legend in LongPen revolution
A standard ornit- at atl\r(:o ginon to txrtltlrrrt; trtttron ‘.'.rrrlor:; (‘eaqor tor ilrl‘lrt‘atron rs to forgot arn. tarry unt‘ornmort‘ral notrons of pulilrshrnu
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Across more than ten collections. rrx‘lutlrnt; Pic Progress at Love and
‘?.."ai'.al. Munro explores what she t'alls tho "shameless. rnarwllous. Slittllt‘l'lllg absurdity of Irto. Her tleprt‘tron ot small town COllllHUlllllCS has it‘tl to tor‘rparrsons vatl: the great rural Southern miniaturrsts. Flaner O‘Connor and William Faulkner Yet. there's a lightness. warmth and r‘lottt‘ulous attention to detail rn Munro's mrtrnu that rnarks her work
Telephone Booking Fringe 0131 226 0000 lntemational Festival 0131 473 2000
Film Festival 0131 623 8030 Book Festival 0845 373 5888 Art Festival 0777 169 3470
MAGGIE O’FARRELL
Researching the past can be valuable but harrowrng
Imagination may be a writer's most precious tool. but when it comes to historical novels. it can only take you so far. Having written three books set in the present day. Maggie O‘Farrell journeyed back in time for her fourth. The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox. A heartbreaking tale of a young girl misdiagnosed with mental illness and institutionalised for most of her life. O‘Farrell‘s latest work takes us from 19305 India to modern day Edinburgh.
“It's the first book I‘ve done a lot of research for. because it was set in the past,’ she says. ‘And I also had to learn a lot about psychiatry. which I really enjoyed. The tricky thing about research though. is you read all this interesting stuff, then you have to decide how much to throw away.‘ O‘Farrell admits to finding the research process harrowing at times. in particular speaking to women of Esme's generation. And when it came to her central character‘s supposed ‘illness‘. there was no need to make anything up. ‘Everything in the book - all the circumstances on Esme's admission forms — were taken from real documents and case studies. I was quite sure I wanted to do that. because the truth is horrifying enough, you don‘t need to embellish it at all.‘
Serving as a counterbalance to Esme is her great niece. Iris. an independent young woman with a similar penchant for waywardness. And while things have clearly improved. O‘Farrell shows that disapproval of such women continues. ‘I‘ve always been interested in what happens to the same type of woman at different times in history; an uncompromising girl who people label as difficult because she's not ()ntarran r(é(:r:nlly sartl of hor (r.‘.r:- willing to conform to what society expects of her.’ (Kelly Apter)
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The author '.'.'Tll or: l)(?£tll‘.t:tl lonz; tllSlétllCt,‘ rrllr; an Edinburgh rnarriutzre tor this rare intor‘arrv. wrth hear lollov. tirantlt: (lillllz: of Canadian lottors. Maruarot Atm'tul. anrl ‘.‘./lll lit: starting a lrrnrtotl numlror of books usrnu Atv.'<)ott's rntrrgurno LongPen :rrarntron. rAllan Radclrftol Recommended Reading: Tho M; on); .t' Junior toaturos talor: suoh as 'lhra lur'kot Season anti 'Mrs Cross 3‘ Mrs Krtld'.
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RAFAEL REIG Depicting a futuristic Madrid
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Rataol Rorg, the author. lecturer and composer of a PhD thesrs on 19th- ttontun Irtoran depictions of the pr'ostrtutc. oer‘tarnl‘, kr‘...'.'s n: to choose an apt :iuotatrorx Ho begins Br’oou the Saddle :‘ath the words of Brazilian suitor. Joao Gurmar'aes Rosa: "mu want to swarm across a river and \Oll take to the water; but youre going to land on the otl‘or' bank at a soot muCh lower down. \em drfterent from the 0er HM t'rst thought of. lsn't ber'rg Jame dangerous
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' THE LIST FESTIVAL MAGAZINE 15