Last year, Kit de Waal was the jury chair of the Women’s Prize for Fiction.
Last year, author Kit de Waal, 65, was the jury chair of the Women’s Prize for Fiction. This year, she was on the longlist of the same prize with her novel The Best of Everything (published by Tinder Press). Beginning in 1972, The Best of Everything traces the life of Paulette, a 29-year-old Caribbean woman working as an auxiliary nurse in Birmingham. Deeply in love with a man named Denton, she begins to imagine a future with him—until his life is cut short in a tragic accident. In the aftermath of her loss, Paulette forms an unexpected bond with one of Denton’s friends. But just as she begins to rebuild her life, she comes face to face with the man responsible for Denton’s death. What might have unfolded as a story of revenge instead becomes a moving exploration of friendship, motherhood, forgiveness and kindness.In this interview, the England-based author discusses how she found the distinct voices of the novel’s many characters. Edited excerpts:
Would you say that the ‘best’ in the title of your novel is meant to signal its subjectivity?
Yes, definitely. For my immigrant parents, ‘the best of everything’ was food. To many people, that would look like poverty, but it was modest for them. Paulette’s version too is modest — it’s a nicer house, though a rented one. Good food. Nike trainers. So, I wanted to show how all this is a moveable feast, and how ‘the best of everything’ comes down to the reality of life.
