Sequoia Nagamatsu's best-selling book and All Iowa Reads adult selection for 2023 begins in the year 2030, when thawing permafrost — the result of global warming — allows the release of a long-dormant ancient virus. The resulting pandemic spreads first among children and then mutates to affect adults as well.
In this encore edition of Talk of Iowa, we listen back to host Charity Nebbe's conversation with Nagamatsu about this work of speculative fiction that was written before the COVID-19 pandemic. She also talks with two expert readers about the chapters that made them laugh, cry, and relate to the themes of grief, humanity, and navigating an uncertain future.
This episode was originally produced April 18, 2023.
Guests:
- Sequoia Nagamatsu, author, associate professor of English, St. Olaf College
- Lynne S. Nugent, editor, Iowa Review
- Dean Bakopoulos, associate professor of English, writer-in-residence, Grinnell College
