Novelist Ben Lerner on angry white men and the origins of Trump

Novelist Ben Lerner on angry white men and the origins of Trump

By Financial Times

Ben Lerner is one of the most acclaimed American writers working today. Gris meets him to discuss good parenting, male rage and why "autofiction" (fiction infused with autobiography) isn't narcissistic, despite what people think. 


One of the biggest books of 2019, Lerner's new novel The Topeka School is arguably his most ambitious to date. Set partly in Kansas in the 1990s, it tells the story of one family -- and of the US at large. Can it help us understand how we got here?


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Links from the episode:  

- FT review of Ben Lerner's novel The Topeka School  (paywall) : https://www.ft.com/content/5147ef78-fa37-11e9-a354-36acbbb0d9b6  

- Gris' podcast interview with Sheila Heti, another great writer of autofiction: https://www.ft.com/content/8dd9fc2d-9172-47ea-bbd7-0256d4ee4c4d

- Lilah's piece on the rebirth of astrology for the FT (paywall): https://www.ft.com/content/2816a0ec-000c-11ea-be59-e49b2a136b8d  

- India Ross's piece on the "OK boomer" meme for the FT (paywall): https://www.ft.com/content/52d858a0-06da-11ea-9afa-d9e2401fa7ca

- FT's NextGen package, featuring pieces about the post-millennial generation: https://www.ft.com/nextgen  



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