Coming soon: the lovely Alice de Smith
I have an announcement to make; indeed, I almost feel like a drum roll is necessary. Okay, just imagine…. (Laura clears throat) “I am pleased to announce the inaugural Sunderland Book Group author event! New writer Alice de Smith will be joining us at the next meeting!” Phew- that was good….
But, seriously, I am really excited. Having a living, breathing author there will lend us a whole different perspective on the novel and make us think a bit differently about the whole writer/ reader relationship. I suppose it’s something that, as readers, we don’t usually question. But this has started me wondering- who can say what a book is “about”? Does the person who wrote it really have any more insight than the reader or is it just another perspective? How much does the author’s life/ personality/ experiences influence a book? Does it matter? And just how scary is it for an author to have to deal with 20 people who might just pull their baby to bits??? So many questions- my mind is racing.
And that’s on top of all of the questions that I think the book itself raises- about childhood, parents, class, convention, relationships, what it is to be “a woman”. It strikes me that Welcome to Life can seem quite light but really does make you think about all of those awkward things which adolescence throws into question. And, with all of its talk of recession, it all seems spookily prescient- though I’m a child of the 80’s, so no wonder its all weirdly familiar.
Anyway, we shouldn’t run out of things to talk about with Alice (if it’s anything like usual she’ll be lucky to get a word in edgeways!!). Enjoy the book and have a lovely (wet) weekend. x
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