The New Yorker: Fiction
Episode: Ayşegül Savaş Reads Tessa Hadley
Release Date: December 1, 2024

Introduction

In this episode of The New Yorker: Fiction, hosted by Deborah Treisman, fiction editor at The New Yorker, renowned author Ayşegül Savaş is invited to read and discuss the short story "An Abduction" by Tessa Hadley. The episode delves into both the narrative of the story and its deeper thematic elements, providing listeners with a comprehensive understanding of Hadley’s work and its impact.

Story Selection and Significance

Deborah Treisman introduces the episode by explaining that Ayşegül Savaş, author of three novels including White on White and The Anthropologist, chose "An Abduction" from The New Yorker’s archives, where it originally appeared in July 2012. Savaş emphasizes Hadley’s influential role in shaping her own writing, highlighting Hadley’s unique ability to explore the disconnect between a character's internal life and their external reality.

[01:39] Aishagal Savage: "Tessa Hadley is a writer I still read. She's one of these writers, whenever she has a new story or a new book really fills me with joy."

Reading of "An Abduction"

Ayşegül Savaş delivers a poignant and evocative reading of "An Abduction," narrating the life of Jane Alsop, a 15-year-old girl who experiences what appears to be an abduction, though it subtly reveals that Jane may not be physically taken but rather undergoes a profound emotional and psychological transformation. The story intricately portrays Jane’s interactions with her family, particularly her absentee father and verbally abusive mother, juxtaposed against her encounter with a group of college friends who seem to manipulate and exploit her vulnerability.

Key themes explored in the reading include:

• Identity and Self-Perception: Jane’s struggle with her self-image, influenced by her family’s dismissive attitude.
• Transformation and Memory: The transient yet impactful experience that leaves Jane emotionally scarred but unchanged in her outward behavior.
• Isolation and Connection: Jane’s inability to fully integrate her traumatic experience into her everyday life, resulting in a sense of perpetual detachment.

Post-Reading Discussion

Following the reading, Deborah Treisman engages in a deep discussion with Aishagal Savage, focusing on the story's narrative techniques, character development, and underlying themes.

Opening Lines and Narrative Impact

They begin by analyzing the story's opening line:

[51:21] Aishagal Savage: "Jane Alsop was abducted when she was 15 and nobody noticed."

Treisman and Savage discuss how this line sets up expectations of a dramatic event that paradoxically goes unnoticed, immediately hinting at Jane’s invisibility in her own life.

[51:43] Aishagal Savage: "It's the engine for the story. It tells us this is what you're going to be reading... the real essence of the story."

Character Analysis: Jane Alsop

The conversation delves into Jane’s character as someone caught between childhood and adulthood, lacking a solid sense of identity due to her upbringing and the lack of meaningful connections.

[53:01] Aishagal Savage: "It's a coming of age story... a story of transformation... but it doesn't play out in the ways that we expect it to."

They highlight how Jane’s experience during the so-called abduction marks a threshold moment that fails to significantly alter her life trajectory, leaving her in a state of emotional limbo.

[55:31] Debra Treisman: "The sadness of it is that indigestibility... she can't make it part of herself."

The Role of Supporting Characters

Discussion shifts to the male characters—Daniel, Nigel, and Patti—and their influence on Jane’s brief yet impactful experience.

[59:17] Debra Treisman: "She doesn't even know what to fear. And what's amazing is that that quality is what actually attracts Daniel."

They explore how Daniel’s perception of Jane as pure and unselfconscious contrasts with his later life choices, suggesting a loss of that initial purity over time.

[63:54] Aishagal Savage: "Jane's had a good life, too, because she's held on to that openness in some way."

Narrative Structure and Perspective

Treisman and Savage examine Tessa Hadley’s choice of third-person narration, allowing readers to perceive Jane from an external viewpoint, which emphasizes her invisibility and the disconnect between her internal and external worlds.

[70:11] Aishagal Savage: "She doesn't know what to do with them [words]."

They discuss how first-person narration would limit the depth of understanding regarding Jane’s transformation and the external perceptions of her character.

Themes of Memory and Transformation

The discussion touches on how Jane’s life does not visibly change post-abduction, leading to a poignant reflection on memory and the inability to integrate traumatic experiences meaningfully.

[61:08] Aishagal Savage: "There’s not enough room either in her life or in her imagination to do too much with it."

Conclusion and Lasting Impact

Concluding their analysis, Treisman and Savage reflect on the enduring impact of the story, both on Jane and on the reader, emphasizing the emotional complexity and the subtle critique of societal expectations.

[66:56] Debra Treisman: "They won't work as friends once they figured those things out about themselves."

They commend Hadley’s ability to portray the “poetry of the mundane,” capturing profound emotional truths within ordinary experiences.

[84:14] Debra Treisman: "Poetry of the mundane."

Final Thoughts

The episode wraps up with acknowledgments of both authors’ contributions to literature and an invitation for listeners to explore more stories through The New Yorker’s various podcast offerings.

[84:39] Debra Treisman: "Words can shape one's understanding of oneself and also of events and of memory."

Notable Quotes with Timestamps:

• [01:39] Aishagal Savage: "Tessa Hadley is a writer I still read. She's one of these writers, whenever she has a new story or a new book really fills me with joy."

• [51:21] Aishagal Savage: "Jane Alsop was abducted when she was 15 and nobody noticed."

• [53:01] Aishagal Savage: "It's a coming of age story... a story of transformation... but it doesn't play out in the ways that we expect it to."

• [55:31] Debra Treisman: "The sadness of it is that indigestibility... she can't make it part of herself."

• [59:17] Debra Treisman: "She doesn't even know what to fear. And what's amazing is that that quality is what actually attracts Daniel."

• [61:08] Aishagal Savage: "There’s not enough room either in her life or in her imagination to do too much with it."

• [66:56] Debra Treisman: "They won't work as friends once they figured those things out about themselves."

• [84:14] Debra Treisman: "Poetry of the mundane."

About the Authors

Tessa Hadley is a recipient of the Wyndham Campbell Literature Prize and the author of over a dozen books of fiction, including the novels Late in the Day and Free Love, as well as the story collections Bad Dreams and Other Stories and After the Funeral. She has been publishing fiction in The New Yorker since 2002.

Ayşegül Savaş has published three novels—Walking on the Ceiling, White on White, and The Anthropologist—and a nonfiction book, The Wilderness, which is an essay and memoir about the first 40 days of motherhood. A collection of her stories, Long Distance, is set to release next year. She has been featured in The New Yorker since 2019.

For more episodes of The New Yorker: Fiction, visit The New Yorker Podcasts. You can download over 200 previous episodes or subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred podcast app.

Produced by Chloe Prosinos and Deborah Treisman.