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Best Of: Novelists Liz Moore & Julian Barnes

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Jan 31, 2026

Maureen Corrigan, noted literary critic and professor, gives a brisk review of George Saunders. Julian Barnes, Booker Prize winner and novelist, discusses his hybrid final book, mortality, and mourning. Liz Moore, bestselling novelist and MFA director, talks about addiction, missing siblings, adapting novels for TV, and writing routines. Short, conversational segments cover craft, grief, and adaptations.

48:47

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INSIGHT

Class Tension Fuels The Adirondack Mystery

The God of the Woods contrasts wealthy 'great camp' owners with working-class locals who rely on survival skills.
Moore uses that contrast to explore class, entitlement, and mythic self-image in the Adirondacks.

insights

INSIGHT

Title Rooted In Myth And 'Wood Panic'

Moore found the title The God of the Woods through Adirondack primary sources and the idea of 'wood panic' tied to the god Pan.
The title links disorientation in the woods to both myth and the Van Lars family's self-aggrandizement.

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ADVICE

Guard Morning Writing Rituals

Moore writes early mornings, treating short daily sessions as essential to her craft.
She keeps a disciplined routine to reach the rare 'flow' moments that make the work feel effortless.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Liz Moore on Kensington and her photo essay

02:43 • 1min

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Sisters, addiction, and Long Bright River's premise

04:13 • 4min

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Adapting Long Bright River for TV and community involvement

Why set The God of the Woods in the Adirondacks

11:55 • 2min

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Camp culture, class tensions, and the title's origin

13:29 • 4min

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Liz's writing habits and daily routine

17:18 • 2min

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Craft: plotting, timelines, and writing through dead-ends

18:59 • 4min

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Teaching, technology limits, and staying offline to write

22:44 • 5min

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Maureen Corrigan reviews George Saunders' Vigil

Julian Barnes introduces Departures and hybridity

34:32 • 5min

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Barnes on the ghoulish, death, and Montaigne

39:17 • 6min

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Personal grief: his wife's death and facing mortality

45:02 • 5min

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Contemplating suicide and choosing memory as duty

• Mentioned in 2 episodes

The unseen world

Liz Moore

Lisa Flanagan

The Unseen World follows Ada Sibelius, a painfully shy prodigy raised by her eccentric, socially inept father David in 1980s Boston. Home-schooled and spending her days at David's computer science lab, Ada's world collapses when her father develops early-onset dementia. As she grapples with caring for him and piecing together his mysterious past, Ada embarks on a journey that carries her from childhood to adulthood, discovering secrets connected to her father's work on artificial intelligence and virtual reality. The novel explores themes of family, identity, legacy, and the nature of humanity through the lens of emerging technology.

#20710

• Mentioned in 3 episodes

Heft

Liz Moore

#4109

• Mentioned in 12 episodes

God of the Woods

Liz Moore

#13763

• Mentioned in 4 episodes

Departure

Alan Wake

#5061

• Mentioned in 10 episodes

Vigil

Jeffrey Wasserstrom

Vigil: Hong Kong on the Brink provides a comprehensive overview of Hong Kong's political landscape, from its post-war boom to the recent protests. The book delves into the context leading to the Umbrella Movement and the 2019 protests, offering insights into the city's unique political system and key figures involved. Wasserstrom's narrative brings readers to the forefront of the battle for democracy in Hong Kong.

#19737

• Mentioned in 3 episodes

Levels of Life

Julian Barnes

The book is divided into three essays: 'The Sin of Height' explores 19th-century ballooning and photography; 'On the Level' fictionalizes a relationship between balloonist Fred Burnaby and actress Sarah Bernhardt; and 'The Loss of Depth' addresses the author's grief following the death of his wife, Pat Kavanagh. Barnes reflects on the nature of grief, memory, and the complexities of mourning without sentimentalizing his experiences.

#2760

• Mentioned in 17 episodes

The Sense of an Ending

Julian Barnes

The novel is narrated by Tony Webster, a retired man who recounts his adolescent friendship with Adrian Finn and his early romantic relationships. The story is divided into two parts: the first part describes Tony's teenage years and early adulthood, while the second part delves into his attempts to retrieve Adrian's diary, which forces him to reevaluate his memories and the truth about his past. The book explores themes of memory, history, and the inaccuracies of personal narratives, highlighting how our perceptions of the past can be flawed and subject to revision over time.

#6706

• Mentioned in 7 episodes

Long Bright River

Liz Moore

Long Bright River is a deeply affecting novel that delves into the lives of two sisters, Mickey and Kacey Fitzpatrick, in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia. Mickey, a single mother and police officer, searches for her missing sister Kacey, who is struggling with addiction and works as a sex worker. The story unfolds as a mystery-thriller, with a series of murders involving prostitutes, forcing Mickey to confront their troubled childhood and the complexities of their relationship. The novel explores themes of addiction, family dynamics, and the broader social issues of poverty and community policing, offering a gripping and emotionally charged narrative.

#1112

• Mentioned in 35 episodes

Lincoln in the Bardo

Yannick Garcia Porres

George Saunders

Javier Calvo Perales

The novel is set in 1862 during the American Civil War and revolves around the death of Willie Lincoln, the 11-year-old son of President Abraham Lincoln. After Willie's death from typhoid fever, his spirit finds itself in a limbo known as the bardo, a concept borrowed from Tibetan Buddhism. Here, he encounters a diverse group of ghosts who are also trapped between the world of the living and the afterlife. The story delves into themes of grief, both personal and national, as Lincoln grapples with the loss of his son amidst the broader context of the Civil War. The novel is characterized by its unique narrative style, which includes a multitude of voices and historical quotes, and its exploration of the human experience of suffering and love.

Liz Moore’s bestselling book, ‘Long Bright River,’ was set in a troubled Philadelphia neighborhood where she’d worked on a photo essay. “My own family has a long history of addiction. I was kind of emotionally drawn back to the neighborhood over and over again because of that,” she tells Dave Davies. The resulting thriller about a policewoman searching for her missing sister was made into a series on Peacock. Moore’s latest book, ‘The God of the Woods,’ where a child goes missing from a remote children’s camp, will be adapted to a Netflix series.

Also, we hear from one of England’s most acclaimed writers, Julian Barnes. He has a new book, which he says will be his last. It’s called ‘Departures.’ He spoke with Terry Gross.

Maureen Corrigan reviews George Saunders’ new novel, ‘Vigil.’

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