You are a human animal.

You are a very special breed,

or you are the only animal,

who can think, who can reason, who can read.

Hi, this is Michael Silverblad and welcome to Bookworm.

Today my guest is Carolyn Schutt, the author most recently of Mary Mann, the author as well,

of the Beans of Egypt, Maine, and of Latorno's used auto parts.

Did I say the name right?

Ltonos, yes, chute.

I wasn't sure if he said chute or chute, but it sounded like chute, where you said it.

Chute, yeah.

Chute, thank you. No, I didn't say it right.

It sounded like close to right.

I'm curious here. You know, when I was reading Mary Mann, I particularly liked the way in which time passes in the book. It's such a,

well, one example is that because this is a corner of the world in which things have changed

a lot and not for the better, and perhaps they never were very good.

A daughter who's being taught how to bake a pie is cautioned against the berries that are now not very profuse

and that she found growing near a parking lot,

and her mother tells her that she shouldn't use those berries

because someone who pissed on them might have had AIDS.

And she, very wise, says, oh, Ma, that's not how you get AIDS.

And the mother says, well, any kind of piss.

...