Episode 16: The Friend and The Pull of the Stars

Writer and academic Suzanne Scott drops by the podcast to discuss two books that inspire her as a writer. The Friend is an experimental book that Suzanne describes as a jazz piece riffing and improvising on the themes of suicide, writing and dogs. The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue is a gripping historical novel set during the Spanish Flu at a Dublin maternity hospital. Suzanne reveals how The Chair accurately captures an academic environment and The Secret Life of Writers podcast is a source of inspiration.

Books and resources discussed:

The Friend by Sigrid Nunez
The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donaghue
Room by Emma Donaghue
The Chair, Netflix
Country Girls by Edna O’Brien
Station Eleven by Emily St. John
Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam
The Secret Life of Writers, Podcast
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
Herself: Reflections on a Writing Life by Madeleine L’Engle
The Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
A Bright Ray of Darkness by Ethan Hawke