5/21/2023 0 Comments Severance book ling maThat mix of work obligation, half enjoyment, and alienation feels as close to any office party as I’ve ever attended. The camera moves through the scene casually, like a party attendant, eventually drifting back to Harry as he defers questions from his peers, who cajole him to spill his techniques and trade secrets. More of a mood piece than a straight up thriller, this 1974 film contains one of my favorite sequences: That of an after-hours work party held in Harry’s industrial loft office, following a security convention of fellow wiretappers and investigators for hire. Torn between doing his job and intervening, he begins to suspect that he himself is being surveilled. “The Conversation” follows Harry Caul, a wiretapper who suspects that one of his recordings, of a conversation between an unaware couple, may be used in a murder plot. The author shared more details about three of them, and how they informed her novel, below. When writing “Severance,” author Ling Ma drew inspiration from various sources, including several films. Our December 2020 pick for Now Read This, the PBS NewsHour’s book club with The New York Times, is Ling Ma’s “Severance.” Become a member of the Now Read This book club by joining our Facebook group, or by signing up to our newsletter.
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