Chicklish interviews Saci Lloyd, author of Carbon Diaries 2015, a story about growing up in a time of climate change. Our reviewer calls it "my favourite book this year by far. It’s original, clever, funny, well worked out…" Read the full review here.
Reading Carbon Diaries 2015, Laura’s dad was my favourite character, because of the way he changes, trying to adapt to the new environment. Which was your favourite when you wrote it?
Hmm, very tricky question…. I kind of liked them all because they all seemed so real to me. They’re all struggling in their own way with rationing and their new lives and I had a lot of fun with the whole process. I think I did have a soft spot for Arthur, though… he reminded me a lot of my grandfather.
How do you think you’d have handled things if you were Laura?
Hopefully exactly the same. Hating all the lies, having a laugh, not going mental, falling in love with the wrong guy, keeping her dream alive.
How did you come up with the idea for the pig? He’s quite a character!
We had a pig when I was a kid. When we went to pick him up from a local farmer he squealed like Amy Winehouse as soon as we picked him up to put him in the back of the van. The day we brought him home, Prince William was born. Guess what we called him…
Now that we have to wait a while for Carbon Diaries 2017 are there any books you can recommend us to read in the meantime?
Ooh I’m not sure … but a TV series I’m waiting to come here is a thing called ‘Generation Kill’ – about a group of young US soldiers fighting in Iraq. I also love the adbusters, schnews and the Radiohead websites. Anything revolutionary and anti-establishment.
Actually, I’m not sure I can wait for Carbon Diaries 2017 to be released... Can you give us any hints at what happens? Please, please?
Well… it’s over a year since the last diary and Laura’s now in her first year of university in London, a city still struggling to pull itself together in the new rationing era. Times are tough, in both the UK and across Europe, with all nations battling with a rising tide of unemployment, shortages and political extremism.
And Laura’s right in the heart of it. Set against a background of student revolt and riots, her band, the dirty angels are gigging all over town until a police crackdown forces them out of the city. In exile on her parents’ farm in Oxfordshire, the band vow to carry on. But the country’s no safe place to be either and soon they are on their way to Europe, on tour with the fabulous Tiny Chainsaws in the Distance.
But the tour soon unravels in a mad sequence of events that include drought in Europe and Africa, a tidal-wave of desperate immigrants, a water war in the Middle East and a city-wide face off with the army in London. Not to mention infidelity, betrayal, friendship, love and massive courage.
More than anything Laura just wants to get on with her life; but she faces a bewildering array of questions. How long can she stay on the sidelines? How long can she distance herself from the struggle? And most importantly, how can she keep her style and hope alive in a world on the edge of madness?
How’s that for starters?
We definitely can't wait. Thank you very much, Saci Lloyd.
Interview by Alexandra
With thanks to FantasticFiction.co.uk for the picture
The Carbon Diaries is such a good book and i understand what we have to do for our world, if we don't change it, but one person alone... maybe all students should read it...
Posted by: Jess | 12 March 2012 at 03:35 PM