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Joy English · Level C2 · Arts and mediajoy-english.com

An interview with a novelist about a second book

Name:Date:

A radio interviewer questions a novelist whose first book was a surprise success, and his dry answers reveal more than he says outright.

Audio and answer checking: https://joy-english.com/listening/novelist-second-book-interview

Attitude and implied meaning

Listen to the recording. Choose the best answer. Think about what is implied as well as what is said.

  1. What is the main purpose of the interview?
    • a) To announce a new publisher
    • b) To explain how to become a novelist
    • c) To discuss the new book and how success has affected the writer
    • d) To review the writer's first novel
  2. What does Desmond imply by "Thrilled is a strong word, but I'm certainly awake"?
    • a) He is delighted but tired
    • b) He is tired and not especially enthusiastic
    • c) He is nervous about the programme
    • d) He is worried about the reviews
  3. How does he feel about critics who compare the two books?
    • a) Grateful for their attention
    • b) Offended by their lack of respect
    • c) Wryly amused, since they judge a book they have not read
    • d) Eager to hear what they conclude
  4. Why does he say writing the first book could not be repeated?
    • a) He had more time then
    • b) He wrote it with no expectations
    • c) He had a better editor then
    • d) He lived near the sea
  5. What is the "small committee" he mentions?
    • a) A group of real readers who advised him
    • b) His editor and publisher
    • c) The panel who chose his title
    • d) Imagined readers whose opinions he argued with
  6. Why did he set the new novel in a mountain observatory?
    • a) To escape the label of a writer of the sea
    • b) To please his editor
    • c) To write about science
    • d) To follow the advice of critics
  7. What does his remark about printing a bad review on a cushion suggest?
    • a) He plans to sell cushions
    • b) He has forgotten the review
    • c) He jokes about a criticism that clearly stayed with him
    • d) He agreed with the review
  8. What is his attitude to a third book?
    • a) He rules it out firmly
    • b) He has already begun it
    • c) He expects the publisher to refuse it
    • d) He neither agrees nor refuses, and leaves it open

Key details

Listen again. Type one word or number from the recording to complete each sentence.

  1. He wrote his first novel in a rented room above a ___.
  2. The imagined committee had opinions about ___.
  3. He spent ___ months arguing with people who did not exist.
  4. The title of the new book arrived in a ___.
  5. For most of the process the working title was Book ___.
  6. A reviewer described his prose as tastefully ___.

Answer key

Attitude and implied meaning

  1. c) To discuss the new book and how success has affected the writerHannah asks about the new book, the comparisons with the first and how success changed his writing.
  2. b) He is tired and not especially enthusiasticHe rejects "thrilled" and says only that he is awake, which suggests weariness rather than excitement.
  3. c) Wryly amused, since they judge a book they have not readHe says, ironically, that he admires their "stamina" in comparing a book they have not read with one read years ago; this is dry mockery, not offence ("Not at all").
  4. b) He wrote it with no expectationsHe calls writing with no expectations a condition one can only experience once.
  5. d) Imagined readers whose opinions he argued withHe says he spent months arguing with people who did not exist.
  6. a) To escape the label of a writer of the seaHe could not bear being called a writer of the sea, so he went as far from water as he could.
  7. c) He jokes about a criticism that clearly stayed with himHe remembers the words exactly, so the joke hides how much the comment affected him.
  8. d) He neither agrees nor refuses, and leaves it openHe says his editor believes there will be one, and to ask again after he has slept.

Key details

  1. bakeryHe says the room was above a bakery.
  2. adverbsHe says they all had opinions about adverbs.
  3. eight / 8He says eight months.
  4. taxi / cabHe says the title arrived in a taxi.
  5. two / 2The working title was Book Two.
  6. emptyThe review called his prose tastefully empty.

Transcript

Hannah: My guest today is Desmond Calloway, whose first novel, The Salt Road, sold more copies than anyone expected, including, I gather, the publisher. Desmond, thank you for coming. Your second book is out next month, and I'm sure you're thrilled.

Desmond: Thrilled is a strong word, but I'm certainly awake, which at this stage of a book tour is an achievement. It's a pleasure to be here.

Hannah: Critics have already been comparing the new book with The Salt Road. Does that bother you?

Desmond: Not at all. I've learned to admire the stamina of people who compare a book they haven't read with one they read years ago. It must be exhausting. If I'm honest, I wrote the second one largely to find out whether I could. The first, as you know, was written in a rented room above a bakery, with no expectations whatsoever, and that is a condition one can only experience once.

Hannah: So the success changed how you write?

Desmond: It changed who I imagined was reading over my shoulder. For the first book, nobody was. For the second, there was a small committee, and, rather unhelpfully, they all had opinions about adverbs. I spent eight months arguing with people who didn't exist, and I lost most of the arguments.

Hannah: The new book is set in a mountain observatory. Was that a conscious move away from the coast?

Desmond: Conscious is generous. I'd been told that I was a writer of the sea, and I found I couldn't bear the label, so I went as far from water as I could manage. Whether that is courage or sulking, I'll leave to the reviewers, who will no doubt tell me anyway.

Hannah: Do you read your reviews?

Desmond: I read the good ones twice and the bad ones once, which is, I believe, the only sensible policy. Although I confess that the one bad review I remember word for word described my prose as tastefully empty. I considered having it printed on a cushion.

Hannah: You've said before that the title came last. Was that true for this book too?

Desmond: The title arrived in a taxi, three days before the deadline, courtesy of a stranger's telephone conversation, and I have never been so grateful to anyone I will never meet. For most of the process the working title was Book Two, which tells you how confident I was.

Hannah: What do you do when the writing stops going well?

Desmond: I tidy. My flat has never been so clean as during the second book. If you ever want evidence of a troubled manuscript, inspect the skirting boards.

Hannah: People say the first novel is largely autobiographical.

Desmond: People say a great many things. The narrator has my height and my fear of ferries, and everything else I invented, mostly out of spite.

Hannah: And will there be a third book?

Desmond: My editor believes so, and she's usually right, which is one of her more tiresome qualities. Ask me again after I've slept.

Hannah: We'll hold you to that. Desmond Calloway, thank you.

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