Alexis Wright on the Importance of Training the Brain Through Literature

Do you have any of Alexis Wright? the author with the same name asks the woman behind the information desk at a library in Melbourne, Australia.

They do. Among other things, Wright's latest book, the brick "Praiseworthy" with its around 700 pages, is available at the library.

I'm "fangirling" a bit right now, says the woman at the information desk, who according to her name tag is named Emily, and shows the way between the bookshelves.

Here it is. I just have to thank you for your work, she says when she hands over the book to the author.

Fog hits the city

Alexis Wright has become a star in literary circles. She has been mentioned as one of the favorites for the Nobel Prize in literature, and the novel "Praiseworthy" has been awarded several major literary prizes. In the book, which has recently been published in a Swedish translation, the reader follows an Aboriginal family who live in a city that is hit by a disturbing fog cloud.

Wright worked on "Praiseworthy" for around ten years, with many rewrites, before she felt ready with it. She says that she wanted to capture the spirit of the times in the book, and among other things convey how people around the world are connected to each other and nature.

I was worried about global warming and the denial of it. I am also worried about what happens to us as indigenous people, and poor people around the world. What happens to us and what happens to everyone in this situation?

Train the brain

With its long sentences, which are sometimes up to half a page long, "Praiseworthy" has been described as challenging to read. Wright agrees with the description.

There is a lot of literature today that is easy to read. Books come and go, there are books that have a shelf life of three to four weeks and then it's over. I couldn't see myself writing a book that only lasts for three to four weeks, after all the effort you need to put into writing a book.

She refers to a statement by the author Will Self, who in a plea for "big books" said that many people like to go to the gym to train their body, but that you also need to train your brain.