When E Annie Proulx's novel The Shipping News was published in 1994, it caused a literary sensation.
She was labelled "maybe the best writer in America" and lauded in every review going.
Eight years later, she has dropped the E and is working on an ambitious new novel which has been three years in the making. Disappointingly, she didn't give us a sneak preview of the new material. But when she read from The Shipping News it reminded me of what a great book it is. This is a novel that was obviously made for reading out loud, with its delicious descriptions and wonderful lists.
It is now in the final stages of being turned into a film, with Kevin Spacey, Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett in the main roles. Annie Proulx offered some wry comments on the filming process before talking about her transition from magzines to fiction and offering up some philosophical points on the process of writing.
She came across as witty, warm and eminently interesting, cutting through politically-correct attitudes and into the kind of visionary implicity displayed by her characters.
Theatre Royal, New Road, Brighton, Sunday
In association with Waterstone's
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