Field Ramble with Balsam Karam

On this episode we meet Balsam Karam to hear about her latest novel The Singularity. Set in an unnamed coastal town the story follows the impact of one woman’s death on another. It is a study of loss, migration and motherhood and a book that remains with you long after you’ve put it down.

 Through bold formal experimentation Balsam builds a language of post trauma, moving from separate narratives that co-exist on the same line to episodic, crystalline remembering. This is definitely a book for those who’ve read and loved Claudia Rankine’s Citizen. 

At its heart are searching questions about who we choose and choose not to see in society. And at a time when violence is so breezily explained away in our wider public discourse, The Singularity asks us to consider the depths and complexity of a single life and lasting impact of its loss.

The Singularity is published by Fitzcarraldo and is available now. 

Thanks to Ian Hawgood (Tides) and Huw Marc Bennett (Y Gwydd) for the use of their beautiful music. 

If you enjoyed our conversation with Balsam please leave us a review and subscribe where you get your podcasts to never miss an episode.

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