Lily Brooks-Dalton : Ruins

In this rich and expansive conversation, David Naiman interviews acclaimed writer Lily Brooks Dalton about her latest novel, Ruins, a speculative work that challenges narrative conventions and reader expectations. The discussion centers on the novel’s intricate structure, its slow-burning reveal that reorients the reader’s understanding of time and reality, and the profound thematic concerns of solitude, queerness, and the fragility of cultural memory. Dalton reflects on her writing process, emphasizing her dual approach of outlining as structural scaffolding and intuitive exploration within that framework. She discusses her deep engagement with archaeology not as a literal discipline but as a metaphor for how societies construct and reconstruct history. The conversation also delves into the politics of knowledge, the critique of nation-building myths, and the novel’s queering of identity, belonging, and the human relationship with the natural world. Throughout, Dalton defends the unlikable protagonist Ember Agni not as a flaw, but as a necessary act of resistance against normative expectations, particularly regarding gender and emotional labor. The episode closes with a forward-looking glimpse into Dalton’s next project, a speculative exploration of the collective unconscious and its reflection in the physical world.