McGlue: A Novella

"Yes, it’s narrated by an alcoholic sailor who has been accused of murdering his best friend and shipmate. He also can’t remember doing it, which echoes Alias Grace . So he’s trying to remember what happened that night, but it’s fragmented and confusing. He’s unreliable, so we get glimpses of his memories in a very intense, vivid, stream-of-consciousness style. This was one of my biggest inspirations for Victorian Psycho . It feels so visceral, so unique. Reading it is almost an experience of the body. I felt like it was repeatedly slapping me in the face until the end. I was so struck by the voice, again. I know Ottessa Moshfegh has said that writing this book was like a possession, and it feels like that for the reader, too. You’re possessed by the spirit of McGlue. It was also based on a real case that Moshfegh found in a newspaper. It’s so rich. I was really struck by the historical details that are peppered throughout—very specific details that encompass a whole era. Ottessa revealed to me in an interview that she realised what the ending should be thanks to a woman she went to, a psychic in Rhode Island, who said she could touch people and tell them what the body was hiding from the mind. I don’t want to spoil it, but the woman told her what the feelings were between McGlue and the murdered friend. It’s a little work of art. It packs so much into such a slim space. I was awestruck by this novella, and it inspired me too."