The novel was once at the centre of cultural life — providing the highpoints and showcase of genius, a demanding art that asked readers to sit alone with difficulty. But the readers are disappearing. Fewer than half of American adults now read a single book in a year, and only 38% read any fiction at all. Join Booker-shortlisted author of Umbrella, Will Self, as he argues this is nothing short of a civilisational crisis. The challenging novel has been pushed to the margins by digital media and "synthetic fluff", and we risk losing our capacity for depth of thought altogether. In conversation with novelist and essayist Joanna Kavenna, they ask whether the book is in terminal decline, and whether anything can be done about it.
"Unsettling and furiously intelligent." – Guardian
"Endlessly inventive." – The Times
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