Задание 4 ЕГЭ по английскому языку

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Presenter: Hello everybody and welcome to our weekly programme 'The Writer's Workshop'. Today in our studio we are lucky to have Judy White, whose writing has appeared in the New York Times and News Day, and whose plays have been performed in NYC theatres and at major festivals. She has recently published her first novel 'If I Knew', which is already a number one bestseller worldwide. Hello, Judy.

Judy White: Good afternoon. Thank you for inviting me here today.

Presenter: Could you please tell us a bit more about the concept of your book?

Judy White: With great pleasure. I think the book is so successful thanks to its concept of a collection of linked stories. On the one hand, the book doesn't quite build and develop its storylines the way a novel would. On the other hand, many of the stories do seem like chapters, with narrative arcs of their own and endings that seem incomplete, like the prelude to another story or chapter. Also, some of the chapters are almost character sketches, which is probably insufficient to drive a standalone story, but which, in the context of the book as a whole, are really probing and thoughtful.

Presenter: How did you decide on the structure of the book?

Judy White: The content and structure of 'If I Knew' almost had a life of its own. I wrote the last story first and knew it was going to be the last story, but really had no idea what would come before. I just started writing the stories pretty much out of sequence, and I would send them to my agent as they were completed. I was simultaneously working on another novel at the same time. I still didn't know if it was going to be a novel or a story collection until the manuscript was finished, and then the linked stories made the most sense, particularly within the location they have in common. I liked the idea of stories about these connected lives that didn't necessarily have neat conclusions and might haunt readers a little after they've finished reading. This seems to have been achieved, according to some of the reviews.

Presenter: Your novel has wonderful dialogues, as well as exciting, long, uninterrupted monologues. How do you manage to make them so gripping? Is that the effect of your experience as a playwright?

Judy White: I think whether writing dialogue for plays or narrative fiction, you have to pay attention to your characters, more so than to the rules of whatever medium in which you're writing. I like to picture my characters and imagine their speech patterns, the sound of their voices, conversations they might have. Sometimes I'll write snippets of dialogue and think: 'That's a nice couple of lines, but would this character really say that'? So for me, it's more about respecting the characters, trying to stay true to their voices.

Presenter: There's a strong sense of belonging which is felt by the characters of your book. How much do you feel the same way? How has your sense of belonging to your community changed as you've grown as a person and an artist?

Judy White: I think I've almost always felt like something of an outsider, no matter how much I appear to belong to a particular group. I've spoken to other writers who've experienced this kind of psychic detachment, where externally you are a part of the scene, but internally you might as well be alone, and on some level, you're always observing. It's an interesting paradox because most of the time, unless you tell them, nobody else knows how you're really feeling. I used to live in the place described in the book. I no longer live there, but I have some friends and colleagues who still live there.

Presenter: Thank you, Judy. It has been very interesting talking to you.

Judy White: Thank you.