Daisy Johnson makes the old so fresh, it feels raw.
She writes with flashy lyricism, with motifs of flowing rivers and swaying trees rendered vividly on the page.
But as Johnson speaks about her book, shes hardly so precious.
Matthew Bradshaw
In fact, she details her process and her choices with a striking matter-of-factness.
Theres something so destructive about the idea of a retelling, Johnson says gleefully.
Saying something about our world through a classic lens.
Macmillan
I love the idea of destroying something and putting it back together.
Johnson, 27, is one of her generations most intriguing authors.
Last month, she was named the youngest-ever finalist for the U.K.s prestigious Man Booker Prize.
(The winner wasAnna Burns forMilkman.)
Its not the first time shes proved her rare knack for the uncanny.
InFen, the language becomes really aggressive, as Johnson puts it.
It becomes this other thing sort of attacking the characters.
Johnson takes onOedipus themes of primal urges and free will, but through a deep exploration of trauma.
Johnson feels honored to rank among the various new novels working off of Greek classics.
And thats to say nothing of how Madeline Miller has reframed Greek mythology with her best-sellersSong of AchillesandCirce.
Its really exciting to be a part of, Johnson says.
WithOedipusparticularly, the author believed breathing new life into the story would be risky.
I wanted to see if I could take that and make it new.
Everything Underis the second book under the deal Johnson secured in the U.K.
The road to completion was arduous.
When I brought it to my publisher over here, it was an entirely different book, she confesses.
She takes a breath.
Gradually, the ideas clarified.
She felt guided by her source materials structure.
Again, managing this wasnt exactly easy; the artful construction is the result of a surprisingly mathematical process.
Destruction defines Johnsons approach: She wants to reformulate wordings and plots to reinvent entire stories.
The language we use makes us the people we are, she says.
And indeed, as with her first book, thats whatEverything Undercomes down to.
WithEverything Under, Johnson roars along a new path, littered with the ghosts of literatures past.
Who knows where shell go next?
