Sheltering: Emma Straub’s Book Feels Like a ‘Fantasy Novel’ Now
On this episode of Sheltering, bookstore owner and author Emma Straub speaks with Maris Kreizman about her new novel, All Adults Here. Straub talks about the support that’s poured in for her bookstore (Books Are Magic) and how best to support our local institutions right now. She also discusses writing a realistic, true-to-life novel that now feels fantastical (going out to a diner? Being surrounded by neighbors?), generational differences, not having time to read the newspaper in quarantine, and one day writing a YA novel. Please purchase All Adults Here through Books Are Magic if possible! If not, then please purchase through Bookshop.
From the episode:
Maris Kreizman: I always feel weird when I ask, particularly female authors, how much is based on their own experience, but certainly when I was reading your book I could see, Emma is in this place right now…
Emma Straub: Yes, what’s funny about writing fiction, especially as a woman as you say—people always want to be like, okay so that character’s you, this one’s him, this one’s that person… and that is not how it is. Or not for me. But if you were like, Emma, is this book you? I would say yes. Because I am all of them. I am every character in this book, and all of the characters in every other book I’ve written.
