Episode 70 - Bill Clegg: Part 2

In part two of Bill Clegg's chat with This Writing Life's podcast, we begin with the trauma (a house fire on the night before a wedding) that propels his debut novel, Did You Ever Have a Family? From there (soundtracked by some funky flutes) we move to:

• how the novel began and progressed for Clegg
• first vs third person narration
  
• Wilkie Collins, collective truths and the range of voices
• what we think about each other, for right and mainly wrong
• empathy, judgement and global problems
• why small-towns are a metaphor for the entire world
• town vs wealthy, weekending outsiders
• small-town life and small-town thinking?
• how do you break family destiny and leave small-towns?

Part 3, with more funky background music and cell phone buzzes, to come.