About
In this episode, a conversation with Lara Pawson, author of Spent Light, a startling new hybrid book – fiction, memoir, history, essay – which grants us a perspective on the world with fresh eyes, and implores us to not look away.
An unnamed woman contemplates the toaster she’s inherited from a neighbour. A homely object, hardly worthy of a sonnet or still-life. And yet, thinking of where its parts originated, who assembled it, and how it arrived at her door, could it not be considered as a source of awe?
There is nothing else in contemporary writing quite like this quest to think through the common objects that make up a comfortable life. Pawson makes us see in them all the parameters of history, slavery, genocide, as well as the joy of work, care, physical pleasure – until we realise that this extraordinary book is also a love story.
Our female narrator’s unrelenting focus on the details of domestic living spirals into moments of dark humour. Pawson’s courageous thought associations allow us to, perhaps, apprehend the darkness and light in our shared humanity.
Enjoyed what you heard? Click here to purchase the book: https://www.readings.com.au/product/9781923670112/spent-light--laura-pawson--2026--9781923670112
An unnamed woman contemplates the toaster she’s inherited from a neighbour. A homely object, hardly worthy of a sonnet or still-life. And yet, thinking of where its parts originated, who assembled it, and how it arrived at her door, could it not be considered as a source of awe?
There is nothing else in contemporary writing quite like this quest to think through the common objects that make up a comfortable life. Pawson makes us see in them all the parameters of history, slavery, genocide, as well as the joy of work, care, physical pleasure – until we realise that this extraordinary book is also a love story.
Our female narrator’s unrelenting focus on the details of domestic living spirals into moments of dark humour. Pawson’s courageous thought associations allow us to, perhaps, apprehend the darkness and light in our shared humanity.
Enjoyed what you heard? Click here to purchase the book: https://www.readings.com.au/product/9781923670112/spent-light--laura-pawson--2026--9781923670112