Rose Tremain
English writer
Talking in cliches. We have the most economic, resonant and versatile language in the world, yet so many people use it in a dull and boring way.
What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Question
When were you happiest?
Time & hindsight
Question
Which trait do you most dislike in yourself?
Identity & self
Question
How close have you come to death?
Death & what remains
Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
A verbatim standing question in The Guardian's rotating Q&A questionnaire, documented across respondents and years.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
Fear and all of its consequences.
The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 26 March 2022 source ↗
Others on this question
View all 197 →Never picking up the check.
To be dishonest. Sometimes people have to be dishonest in order not to hurt, but if someone is basically dishonest, that is a different matter.
Looking down at other people. I was brought up to treat people as you treat yourself, with respect. The people you meet on the way up are the people you meet on the way down.
More from Carl Barât
View profile →The last time I held my children and every time before that. They’ve been my salvation.
Fear and all of its consequences.
Probably when I didn’t sleep for a week on drugs in 2009. I’d had a lot of meth and my heart felt like it was giving out. I remember climbing over balconies really high up, and I thought I was going to die, until I eventually fell asleep in someone’s garden.
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