Podcast Summary: "Lee Child, “Moby-Dick,” and Other Summer Reads"

The New Yorker Radio Hour – August 10, 2018
Host: David Remnick | A co-production of WNYC Studios and The New Yorker

Overview

This episode explores the joys of summer reading—those books that offer escape, nostalgia, or a new lens on the world. Host David Remnick and a diverse group of New Yorker contributors share their favorite summer reads, from classic American novels to contemporary thrillers, beloved plays, evocative cookbooks, and childhood paperbacks. A centerpiece is Remnick’s in-depth interview with international bestseller Lee Child about the creation of Jack Reacher and the art (and business) of writing thrillers. The episode concludes with a personal essay on falling in love with reading—for pizza.

Favorite Summer Reads: The Urge to Escape

With Amanda Petrusich and David Remnick
[00:18–03:43]

• Amanda Petrusich, reporting from Battery Park, describes a quintessential New York summer malaise, a "burning desire to flee this island."

• Summer, she says, sets up a yearly urge to escape, which she often satisfies by rereading favorite books, especially "The Great Gatsby" and "Moby-Dick."

• She finds in Melville's opening, with Ishmael's yearning to head to sea, a reflection of New York's blend of love and frustration.

• Quote:

  "I love the kind of, you know, that sort of New York frustration, that New York anxiety, where you love this town, but it is slowly driving you insane at the same time. I think Melville understood that. I think he was kind of a New Yorker in his blood." – Amanda Petrusich [01:38]

• Petrusich reads the iconic first paragraph of "Moby-Dick" to capture this sense of escape.

Lee Child on Writing, Escape, and Jack Reacher

Interview with David Remnick
[03:43–19:22]

Lee Child’s Unlikely Path to Bestsellerdom

• David Remnick shares how summer for him means reaching for lighter, page-turner novels—particularly Lee Child’s Jack Reacher series.
• Child (real name: Jim Grant) describes being fired in his late 30s from television in England due to cost-cutting, marking the end of his first career because “they could get recent graduates to do the work for a quarter of the price.” [06:30–06:44]
• Confronted with a new start, Child aimed to remain in entertainment and took a leap into writing thrillers.

Inventing Jack Reacher: The Anti-Soap Opera

• Child deliberately chose to create a series hero who was nothing like most recurring protagonists:

  "Let's do the anti soap opera... there's only one character, there's no repertory cast surrounding him. ...So it was really a study in loneliness, alienation, in a way." – Lee Child [09:29–09:44]

• Reacher had to be American—only "the wide open spaces" of America fit the mythic, wandering knight archetype:

  "You can't do that in Britain. Britain is too small... there's no mystery about it. America has the frontier feel." – Lee Child [10:01–10:34]

On Writing Process

• Child writes one book a year, always starting September 1st, with no outline and little research—even for technical subjects.
• He relies on organic storytelling, sculpting the story as he goes.
• On facing the blank page each year:

  "Half my mind is impending doom... Finally I've been found out. ...And then I think, well, wait a minute. You felt like that for the last 20 books." – Lee Child [11:34–12:17]

• He claims he never has to scrap more than a few words, not pages—his process is fluid, not rigid.

Reader Expectations & The Art of the Page-turner

• With millions of readers, Child is conscious of pleasing both “expert readers” and “the one book a year person.”

  "A reacher book sells every nine seconds." – Lee Child [15:58] "Their biggest compliment that they can pay you is they will say, 'I loved your book. I finished it.' ...They feel that it's their achievement." – Lee Child [17:12–17:13]

• The key, he says, is the rhythm—“the book has got to be a locomotive that drives people through without being noticeably such.” [17:35]

Will Reacher Ever Retire?

• Child insists he’ll leave Reacher while the character is still fresh and avoid overstaying, unlike some TV shows or athletes.

  "I do not want Reacher to become an embarrassing old character..." – Lee Child [17:38] "If I leave Reacher, I would retire completely... Retirement is a phase of life that I'm keenly looking forward to." – Lee Child [18:07, 18:19]

On Unread Masterpieces

• Child confesses he’s never read Jane Austen and has a backlog of Russian, Flaubert, and undiscovered books waiting for him.

  "I could probably read her in the evenings after I finished writing Reacher, but that would be quite a contrast." – Lee Child [19:13]

Escapism through Plays: Eugene O’Neill in Brooklyn

Vincent Cunningham shares
[20:17–25:07]

• Vincent Cunningham, staff writer, finds prose overwhelming in the summer; prefers reading plays for their rhythm and sound.

• He singles out Eugene O’Neill’s “Beyond the Horizon,” noting recurring archetypes—"brilliant and anguished" O'Neill figures—always close to tragedy.

  "The imperative of reading a play is that you’re supposed to be hearing it right, not reading it. So it’s more rhythmic, it’s more about sound..." – Vincent Cunningham [20:32]

• Reading plays becomes a personal, creative dollhouse—assembling character, sound, and movement in his imagination.

Cookbooks as Escapist Reading

With Helen Rosner
[25:23–33:17]

• Food correspondent Helen Rosner reads cookbooks for their narrative voice and escapism—both geographic ("Thai Street Food") and temporal ("Living and Eating" by John Pawson and Annie Bell).

• She demonstrates making a strawberry fool—her favorite summer dessert—from Pawson’s minimalist cookbook, admiring the writerly personality even in instructions for dishwashers.

  "I love cookbooks that have voice, right? Where you can tell that someone who wrote the recipes or compiled them isn’t just trying to be some anonymous authority figure..." – Helen Rosner [27:49]

• The process is half reading, half tactile pleasure; taste is a "bookmark for our sensory memories."

  "If you only make [Strawberry Fool] in the summer, then it becomes a dish that reminds you of summer forever." – Helen Rosner [32:29]

Falling in Love with Reading—for Pizza

Essay by Karen Russell
[34:03–38:59]

• Karen Russell recounts childhood in the “Book It” program, where reading any 10 books earned a free Pizza Hut pizza.

• The commercial incentive made reading guilt-free and ignited nocturnal adventures through Terry Brooks’ Shannara series—despite disapproval from adults who preferred Austen.

  "It turns out that there is no greater pleasure than reading for pizza. No longer do you feel guilty about eschewing the real world. Now you have an unassailable American motivation. You’re a breadwinner, literally." – Karen Russell [34:21]

• As a child, she learns to fudge her reading log for socially acceptable books but continues her love affair with fantasy.

• Reflects (with gentle nostalgia and pride) on today’s young readers, unashamed in their magic-loving tastes.

Memorable Quotes

• On the urge to escape:
  “I think we are all sort of overcome by a kind of burning desire to flee this island, to go somewhere sort of cool and free and open.” – Amanda Petrusich [00:46]
• On thrillers’ universal appeal:
  “The book has got to be a locomotive that drives people through without being noticeably such.” – Lee Child [17:35]
• On reading as a reward:
  “It turns out that there is no greater pleasure than reading for pizza.” – Karen Russell [34:21]
• On cookbooks:
  “The art of writing a cookbook that has personality is really just... the most magical thing.” – Helen Rosner [27:58]

Episode Flow / Key Timestamps

• Escape and summer longing – [00:18]
• Amanda Petrusich on "Moby-Dick" – [01:38]
• David Remnick: Jack Reacher as a summer read – [03:43]
• Lee Child Interview: writing process and myth – [05:16–19:22]
• Vincent Cunningham reads O’Neill – [20:17–25:07]
• Helen Rosner: escapist cooking and strawberry fool – [25:23–33:17]
• Karen Russell: Book It and reading-for-pizza – [34:03–38:59]

Tone and Style

The episode blends personal nostalgia, wit, and intellectual curiosity. Each contributor conveys a love for a particular genre—not out of snobbery but from genuine delight, whether it’s highbrow classics, brisk thrillers, or mid-century cookbooks. The interviews, readings, and essays are frank and often humorous, reflecting summer’s longing for both rest and adventure. The treatment of each book—classic or popular—is deeply affectionate and free of pretense.

For more on the authors, stories, and recipes mentioned, visit newyorker.com.