#10 Kirsten King: Unlikable Heroines, Downward Spirals, and the Perils of Modern Dating
The Everygirl Book ClubShow Notes
#10 Kirsten King: Unlikable Heroines, Downward Spirals, and the Perils of Modern Dating
The Everygirl Book Club interviews Kirsten King, author of the summer bonus pick A Good Person, about Lillian’s provocative downward spiral after the death of her situationship, Henry. King discusses embracing polarized reactions to an intentionally unlikable protagonist, her current reads and recommendations for “messy women” books, and how her background in journalism and screenwriting (including using Save the Cat) shaped her debut novel while feeling more creatively exposed than in collaborative film work. She explains writing the book during the 2023 WGA strike, building side characters to reveal Lillian’s flawed POV, and choosing not to give Lillian redemption. The conversation covers modern dating, virtue signaling, therapy-speak, female friendship breakups, LA spirituality, and the Daisy Edgar-Jones/Working Title adaptation. King also previews a 2027 dark-comedy novel about a breakup, AI chatbot companionship, and a self-help podcaster chatbot.
01:26 Unlikable Heroine Talk 03:04 Read Receipts 07:10 BuzzFeed Millennial Era 09:02 From Screen To Novel 12:12 Handling Criticism 16:56 Creating Lillian 28:49 Morally Gray Influences 36:44 Reader Prescriptions 46:35 Building Side Characters 48:47 Etsy Witch Culture 52:11 Modern Dating Morality 55:05 Adaptation Update 56:38 Kirsten's Next Book 59:50 Ranking Morally Grey Characters 01:01:51 LITigation
Books Mentioned A Good Person by Kirsten King I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman 200 Monas by Jan Saenz She's a Lamb by Meredith Hambrook Salomé by Leslie Baird Sky Daddy by Kate Folk Famesick by Lena Dunham Fruit Fly by Josh Silver Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn Bad Marie by Marcy Dermansky The Guest by Emma Cline Best Offer Wins by Marisa Kashino Yellowface by R. F. Kuang Big Swiss by Jen Beagin My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney Beautiful World, Where Are You? by Sally Rooney Empire of AI by Karen Hao
Join The Everygirl Book Club meetings September 24: It’s Different This Time RSVP here Use code ‘EGSept26’ for 15% off on Bookshop.org Use code ‘TEGBookClub’ for 30% off on Libro.fm
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