"My dad gave me the novel Letting Go by Philip Roth. Dad read very little fiction—only one book of fiction a year. He was a political scientist, and he read dozens and dozens of non-fiction, academic books every year. But he always became enthusiastic about his one, annual book of fiction, which he would then recommend to everyone. He loved Roth. I like the novel, because it is Roth’s second—and unfamous—book; the writing shows his earnestness. He was looking for his voice then. I love the early novels of writers, for that same reason."

"A novel that has as its main character an Old Lady who is liberated from the boredom of her secure life at an eccentric home for elderly ladies when given a hearing trumpet — and whose wish to go to the North pole before she dies comes true in the most unlikely fashion — has to be good. Even though she is better known as one of the best painters of Surrealism Leonora Carrington’s novels and short stories have had a strong influence on feminist and fantastic fiction. Constantly entertaining and unpredictable The Hearing Trumpet is infused with warmth and rebellion in equal measures."