Jennifer Egan Reads Margaret Atwood

In The New Yorker Fiction Podcast, Deborah Treisman interviews Jennifer Egan about her choice of Margaret Atwood's short story "Kat." Egan discusses how her perspective on the story has changed since she first read it in the 90s, noting its themes of a woman's evolving identity and the cultural context of the pre-internet era. She reflects on Atwood's portrayal of gender dynamics, the fashion world, and the grotesque, and how these elements contribute to the story's exploration of loss, desire, and the search for meaning. Both discuss the character Kat's journey, her relationships, and the symbolic significance of the "hairball" in the story.