Emily St. John Mandel joins Tom’s Book Club to discuss her new novel, Exit Party, a gripping and unsettling novel about parallel worlds, political division, surveillance, freedom, art and the possibility of a different future.
Set in 2031, Exit Party takes us to an America at war with itself, where the Republic of California has declared independence and a seemingly ordinary party in Los Angeles becomes increasingly strange. Ari, recently released from prison, finds herself caught between different versions of reality, before the novel opens up into a second America where many of society’s greatest problems have been solved - but at the cost of constant surveillance and conformity.
Emily talks about where the novel began and the challenge of creating two radically different versions of America. We discuss the book’s exploration of militias, civil conflict and the ways people become accustomed to extraordinary circumstances.
We also talk about Ari, a character Emily first introduced in The Singer’s Gun, the novel’s shifting perspectives and experimental structure; and how form, doubling and parallel worlds allow Emily to explore different versions of reality.
Emily also discusses the role of art and creativity in Exit Party, the connections between this novel and her wider body of work, and the recurring characters and ideas that link her novels together.
Tom’s Book Club is an independent books podcast featuring conversations with contemporary authors about their books, writing and creative process.
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