The author on growing up with tales of swooning heroines, the thrill of Dylan Thomas and the genius of George SaundersMy earliest reading memory One of my older sisters taught me to read using Mills & Boon romance novels. I grew up autistic and queer and feel a nostalgic bewilderment about this genre, which at that time was populated by strong heroines who would – predictably but unfathomably – go weak at the knees for their male love interests. Otherwise, we had few books in the house. There are talented storytellers in my family, particularly my mother. I preferred to hide under the stairs and deliver my stories by writing them down.The book that changed me as a teenager Under Milk Wood by Dylan Thomas. I had known it in childhood in the vinyl format, my late father had the Richard Burton recording. Even though it is a play for voices, I found reading the text myself thrilling. I loved the opulence of the language and the narrative range of it. Continue reading...
Author Jess Kidd learned to read with Mills & Boon novels, which sparked a sense of bewilderment due to the predictable heroines. Growing up with few books, she preferred writing stories. Dylan Thomas' "Under Milk Wood" captivated her with its language and narrative, while Christine Nöstlinger's "Conrad the Factory-Made Boy" resonated with her as a late-diagnosed autistic person due to its characters' non-conformity.
