Sarah Kanowski

Sweetens the deal.

Yeah.

In my experience, Colm, Catholics can be very devout and at the same time highly critical, particularly women Catholics.

Was your mother like that?

Writing.

What value did that have in your family?

What do you remember as a little kid?

Did that spill over to the way people spoke?

Like were your family great storytellers in speaking?

Was it something about writing it down, the written word?

Nearly bought a coat.

And did they talk about that?

It seems when you describe it like that, Colin, almost inevitable that you would become a novelist, that form that lets you be inside people's head and see that contrast between what they're thinking, what they know and what they say out loud to other people.

You were fourth in the family and you and number five were sent off to the country when you were eight or so.

Did you know why?

You'd only just learned to read at that point.

And you used to read the newspaper.

You and your brother, little brother, both there in a kind of exile.

Did it make a close bond between the two of you at that time?

Even as adults?