Not winning any literary prizes.
The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 22 June 2024 source ↗
The question
What disappointment has stayed with you longest?Originally asked
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Not winning any literary prizes.
The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 22 June 2024 source ↗
Trusting someone and being let down.
Realising as I grew up that people don’t really know what they’re doing.
An angina attack 300 metres below the summit ridge of Everest in 2005, having spent 72 days getting that far.
This year? Losing to François Englert and Pete Higgs. I truly thought I had that in the bag.
Raising two children. If you can get your kids to adulthood and they’re not voting Tory, doing drugs or collecting Nazi memorabilia, then you deserve a medal.
My own books being discounted. Oh, and sharks. The reason we Aussies swim so fast is because something much bigger is always trying to eat us.
When the book of my enemy was discounted.
Bumping into my male boss at a nudist beach.
I can’t cook. I use my smoke alarm as a timer.
People who pretend to have perfect marriages. Perfect marriages are like orgasms – many of them are faked.
Kate Mosse, Sara Pascoe, Jo Nesbø, Meg Rosoff, Lionel Shriver, Joshua Ferris
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