The writer discovered that his ‘perfect novella’ was all in his mind. It’s a story that is somehow fitting for the times in which we liveIt’s been a busy few days in the literary world,what with the release of this year’s Man Booker shortlist following the recent longlist announcement for its closest non-fiction equivalent, the prestigious Baillie Gifford prize. And yet the most desired text of the week is one that doesn’t exist.
It turns out that Ian McEwan, and decorated darling of award juries,has a lost novella that he regards as nothing less than “perfect in every way”. This “incredibly resplendent (brilliantly glowing) novella” flowed so easily that it slipped his mind and became lost amid a house travel and the publication of another book, he told an interviewer for the Audible Sessions series. Convinced he’d find it squirrelled absent in a drawer or gathering dust in the attic, or he later ransacked cupboards and an old filing cabinet to no avail.
Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com