Joy English · Nivel C2 · Arte y medios de comunicaciónjoy-english.com

Una entrevista con un novelista sobre su segundo libro

Nombre:Fecha:

Una entrevistadora de radio hace preguntas a un novelista cuyo primer libro fue un éxito sorpresa, y sus respuestas secas revelan más de lo que dice abiertamente.

Audio y corrección de respuestas: https://joy-english.com/es/listening/novelist-second-book-interview

Actitud y significado implícito

Escucha la grabación. Elige la mejor respuesta. Piensa en lo que se da a entender además de en lo que se dice.

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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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

Detalles clave

Escucha otra vez. Escribe una palabra o un número de la grabación para completar cada oración.

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

Respuestas

Actitud y significado implícito

c) To discuss the new book and how success has affected the writerHannah pregunta por el nuevo libro, por las comparaciones con el primero y por cómo el éxito cambió su forma de escribir.
b) He is tired and not especially enthusiasticRechaza "thrilled" y dice solamente que está despierto, lo que sugiere cansancio más que entusiasmo.
c) Wryly amused, since they judge a book they have not readDice, con ironía, que admira su "stamina" al comparar un libro que no han leído con otro que leyeron hace años; es una burla seca, no una ofensa ("Not at all").
b) He wrote it with no expectationsDice que escribir sin expectativas es una condición que solo se puede vivir una vez.
d) Imagined readers whose opinions he argued withDice que pasó meses discutiendo con gente que no existía.
a) To escape the label of a writer of the seaNo soportaba que lo llamaran escritor del mar, así que se fue tan lejos del agua como pudo.
c) He jokes about a criticism that clearly stayed with himRecuerda las palabras exactas, así que la broma esconde cuánto le afectó el comentario.
d) He neither agrees nor refuses, and leaves it openDice que su editora cree que habrá uno, y que vuelvas a preguntarle después de que haya dormido.

Detalles clave

bakeryDice que la habitación estaba encima de una panadería.
adverbsDice que todos tenían opiniones sobre los adverbios.
eight / 8Dice que ocho meses.
taxi / cabDice que el título llegó en un taxi.
two / 2El título provisional era Book Two.
emptyLa reseña calificó su prosa de vacía con buen gusto.

Transcripción

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.