Notes and Links to Farah Ali’s Work

Farah Ali is from Pakistan. She is the writer of the novels Telegraphy (January 2026, CB editions), and The River, The Town, as well as the short story collection People Want to Live. Her fiction has been anthologized in Best Small Fictions and the Pushcart Prize where it has also received special mention. She is the cofounder of Lakeer, a digital space for writing from Pakistan, and reviews editor at Wasafiri.

At about 0:25, Farah talks about her mindset as Pub Day approaches

At about 3:25, Farah traces her early reading, writing, and bilingualism

At about 7:30, Farah responds to Pete’s question about the connection between a high volume of British books and Britain's colonial past

At about 9:45, Farah cites Roy’s of The God of Small Things as “transformative”

At about 10:55, Natalie Diaz and Kaveh Akbar, Tom McCarthy, and Shandana Minhas are cited some as some of purveyors of some of Farah’s contemporary thrill-inducing writing

At about 13:20,

At about 15:40, Farah discusses seeds for the book

At about 18:10, Farah reflects on throughlines in the book, and her clarity in knowing what the book was to be about, and not about

At about 19:50, Pete riffs on Farah’s book in comparison to Sigrid Nunez’s The Friend

At about 20:45, Pete lays out the book’s exposition, and Farah gives background on the book’s first character, Andreas Vesalius

At about 23:55, Farah and Pete discuss protagonist Annie’s nostalgia (or lack thereof) and journaling that makes up the bulk of the book

At about 25:35, Farah talks about the epistolary nature of the book

At about 26:20, The main character, Quratulain/Annie, is characterized/given background

At about 28:05, Farah reflects on the importance of Annie as a woman in relation to stereotypes involving women’s physical and emotional health, as well as how she incorporated Adam, the long-lost love/friend of Annie and his POV

At about 30:45, an incident in which Annie and her cousin are involved in childish frivolity is discussed, and Pete asks Farah about Annie as an “observer”

At about 32:45, Farah expands on her views of agency, and expectations of writers connected to that agency

At about 33:40, Annie’s childhood sickness is examined with regard to her father’s warning her against being a maulani, as well as how she sees a man with wings

At about 36:10, Pete highlights important events for high school age Annie, and compliments a resonant line about “taking up space in the world,” which Farah reflects upon

At about 38:15, The two reflect on “awakenings” for Annie in her late adolescence and college, particularly with regard to her writing and meeting Adam

At about 41:40, The two discuss existential issues for Annie, and ways in which she sees hopelessness and hope

At about 43:25, Farah responds to Pete’s questions about Adam and Annie’s views of and performance of spirituality and religiosity

At about 45:10, Farah responds to Pete’s wondering about why Annie gets married and discussions of somatic issues

At about 46:15, The two discuss histories and themes used in the book, and Farah talks about the balance and planning for plot vs. allegory/symbolism, as well as her deep research

At about 48:55, Emerson’s “Transparent Eyeball” is cited by Farah, as she talks of her love for Marilynne Robinson’s Housekeeping and how the book and the theory propelled her writing

At about 50:50, The two discuss ideas of insanity and intellectual achievement

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Please tune in for Episode 320 with second-time guest Larry Strauss, the author of five novels, most recently Light Man and Now's the Time—now an Earphone Award winning audiobook—and numerous non-fiction titles, including Students First and Other Lies, a collection of essays mostly about education and 2025’s A Lasting Impact in the Classroom and Beyond, a guide for new and struggling teachers, and the focus of the conversation. His short fiction has appeared in Streetlight, Extract(s), and elsewhere. Op-eds and other non-fiction have appeared in USA Today, for which he is an opinion columnist, and The Guardian, among others. If you grew up in the 1980s, you might have seen some of the episodes he wrote for the first-generation Transformers cartoons.

The episode airs on January 27.

Please go to ceasefiretoday.org, and/or https://act.uscpr.org/a/letaidin to call your congresspeople and demand an end to the forced famine and destruction of Gaza and the Gazan people.