Hello and welcome to Meet the Writers.
I'm Georgina Godwin.
My guest today returns to this program after the release of her debut novel assembly in 2021.
The book details the class disparities and identity in Britain today and it was met with praise and shortlisted for many awards including the Goldsmith's Prize and the Orwell Prize for Political fiction.
Since then she spent her time writing her second novel.
Universality opens with a piece of long form journalism, A Fool's Gold by fiction magazine Alazon,
focusing on an attack with a gold bar that was stolen at an illegal rave held at a sprawling estate during the 2020 UK lockdown.
The rest of the story follows the impact the news article had on its participants,
the writer and the person at the centre of the crime.
It's a tale of how language and its perception is used in society from the basis of journalism and how it's used to make distinctive narrative.
Natasha Brown, welcome to Meet the Writers.
Thank you so much for having me back.
Now in assembly.
You never told us very much about the central character.
We didn't even know her name and it was refreshing and interesting and at the end disturbing
that she was saying goodbye really.
And we just never even knew who she was, although we knew so much about her.
You seem to me quite similar.
We don't know very much about you at all.
So where were you born?