BOOK EXPLODER

James McBride discusses the opening passage from his 2020 novel Deacon King Kong. He talks to Susan abou how he tried to capture the spirit of the people who inhabit the housing project where the book takes place – a housing project where he lived in as a child.

“Victory Lap” is a short story from George Saunders’ award-winning story collection Tenth of December. He breaks down how he found the voice of a 16-year old girl by channeling his own 16-year old voice.

Celeste Ng talks about a section of Little Fires Everywhere that reveals the backstory of one of its main characters, Mia.

In the middle of An American Marriage, the story is told through letters sent back and forth by its two main characters, Celestial and Roy. Tayari Jones tells Susan about writing a passage from the book in the form of one of those letters, and how she worked to get it right.

Carmen Maria Machado discusses a pivotal passage from her devastating memoir In the Dream House, and how she incorporated tropes from the horror genre to tell the story of an abusive relationship.

Michael Cunningham talks to Susan Orlean about a passage from The Hours, his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. The passage is about the suicide of author Virginia Woolf, who is also one of the characters in the book.

Min Jin Lee discusses how she wrote a pivotal passage from her novel Pachinko. In a scene where two of her main characters encounter each other for the first time, Min wanted to weave themes of feminism, capitalism, and cultural history into the story.

In conversation with Hrishikesh Hirway, Susan breaks down how she wrote the library fire passage from Chapter 2 of The Library Book.