Enjoyable fare from Anne Enright and David Nicholls at West Cork Literary Festival
Deirdre O’Shaughnessy of the Irish Examiner with authors David Nicholls and Anne Enright at the Westlodge Hotel, Bantry for the West Cork Literary Festival. Picture: Darragh Kane
When literary superstars Anne Enright and David Nicholls entered the packed conference room in Bantry's Westlodge Hotel on Saturday night, the audience did not stamp their feet or whoop with excitement. Instead, they showed their appreciation through rapt silence interspersed with gentle laughter and applause. It was the contained reaction you'd expect from people who are serious about books.
The chair, Irish Examiner news editor Deirdre O'Shaughnessy, set the tone at the West Cork Literary Festival event from the outset. Despite the writers' heft, all was relaxed and informal. Enright has written eight novels, with The Gathering winning the Man Booker Prize in 2007, while Nicholls has written six, including One Day, which has sold six million copies and is now a hit series on Netflix. His Bantry appearance almost coincided with the key day in that novel - July 15.
Nicholls told the 350-strong attendees about taking note when a critic wrote: 'No one reads David Nicholls for the sex'. He took up the challenge and included an orgy in his latest novel, the bestselling You Are Here. But Nicholls being Nicholls, his take is more playful than raunchy.
He read aloud the relevant section to ripples of laughter. "You really couldn't tell who was doing what to who, or 'to whom' or to how what was being done by whom'. An orgy was like trying to pat your head and run your stomach at the same time, except the head and stomach belonged to other people, and it wasn't their head and stomach."
From The Wren, The Wren, Enright selected a passage describing the push-pull dynamic of a young woman attempting to cut the ties that bind her to home and her mother.
"Much as I love my mother, much as I love that fabulous fridge, the free heating, the coffee grinder with whole, organic beans, much as I love reading on the sofa while she shifts and grunts over her Sudoku, I really did need to get away."
Neither author took their craft too seriously, though obvious masters. When asked about her approach to writing a book, Enright said: "I start blindly and make it up as I go along". But once she has a character, "I know every single solitary thing about them - I know what bus route they are on."
The discussion turned to the warm characters Nicholls creates, and Enright asked humorously, "So how do you write likeable characters, David?"
There was a pause and a broad smile before he replied: "I think my characters are tough and unlikable but they never are."
The conversation took a more serious tone when it moved to the controversy surrounding the late Nobel Prize winner writer Alice Munro. Her daughter revealed in a recent article that her stepfather had sexually abused her as a child and that Munro decided to stay with him after learning about it years later.
Enright spoke about the silence of society during the '70s and '80s when the abuse took place, while Nicholls said we need to focus on "the awfulness of the crime".
Before the hour-long session ended, O'Shaughnessy invited questions from the audience.
One person from the back of the room asked if the authors had any writing rituals.
Nicholls said he uses internet blockers on his computer to minimise distractions. He breaks the "sudden silence, which can be a bit daunting" when he starts writing by playing instrumental music. He also edits his work on paper and retypes the new version from scratch. "The act of typing makes you a better editor than reading."
Enright said her approach has changed as she has changed. Now, she keeps it simple: "I do some writing every day — I chip away."
Both were keen to demystify the art of writing — seeing it as the result of a long, thoughtful process.
"What you write is not the final; it's just the start," said Enright.
Nicholls suggested a version of leaving your inner critic outside the door.
"Put everything on the page, and don't worry. No one is going to publish it against your will."
- West Cork Literary Festival continues until Friday, July 19. See www.westcorkmusic.ie/literary-festival/
