Michel Faber: The ‘Evil Is In The ‘Etail (2020 Event)

One of Scotland’s most gifted and unpredictable writers, Michel Faber has always defied categorisation. His previous novels including Under the Skin, The Crimson Petal and the White and The Book of Strange New Things have been described as ‘unbelievably clever,’ ‘wildly entertaining’ and ‘impossible to put down.’

Now he returns with D, his most shape-shifting book yet. Like The Wizard of Oz, Faber’s novel is a political adventure that will be enjoyed by children and adults alike. Its heroine is brave, resourceful Dhikilo who lives in a faded English seaside town. When the letter ‘d’ suddenly disappears from the alphabet and only Dhikilo notices it’s gone, she embarks on a journey to the land of Liminus to get the ‘d’ back.

Reminiscent of Charles Dickens and of Lewis Carroll, Michel Faber’s fable is a delightful sideways look at the evils of our times. He joins us to discuss Dhikilo’s wild odyssey with literary critic Stuart Kelly in this event recorded for the 2020 Book Festival.