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Johny Pitts talks to novelist Elif Batuman who has followed up her Pulitzer Prize-listed 2017 novel, The Idiot, with a sequel, Either/ Or. The novels are philosophical coming-of-age stories about the witty overthinker Selin, who compares herself to literary characters and spends her days decoding her identity as an artist. Now in her second year in college Selin, her straight-talking friend Svetlana and the object of many intellectual daydreams, Ivan, continue their journey through sexual awakening, heartbreak, and the choice between ethics and aesthetics. Elif Batuman tells us why the #Metoo movement led to her revisiting her college years for the novel and the role of literature in shaping her worldview.
Johny discusses the impact of #Booktok and other social media book content in the publishing world, and we hear about a recommended read from this month's new releases.

Book List – Sunday 12 June and Thursday 16 June
Either/Or by Elif Batuman
The Idiot by Elif Batuman
The Possessed: Adventures with Russian Books and the People Who Read Them by Elif Batuman
Fight Night by Miriam Toews
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller