In this week's edition of Endnotes, we take a look at Elaine Castillo's Moderation, which follows the vagaries of a social media content moderator’s work and love lives. In its review, PW says "It’s a triumph."
Here's how the book came together:
Elaine Castillo
“What I knew I wanted to write in this novel scared me, so I avoided it for years—until I couldn’t anymore. I never intended to write a novel about the tech industry. But I did want to write a novel about the many custodians, visible and invisible, who shape our online lives; about the possibility of connection, repair, and transformation in a world where such things might seem impossible; and about love itself as a practice of worldbuilding.”
Laura Tisdel
“I could see that for Elaine, working on Moderation stretched her. There is so much worldbuilding and experimentation in these pages, and she developed her characters to feel vulnerable, imperfect, and gloriously messy in their growth.”
Emma Paterson
“Moderation is the third book of Elaine’s to be edited by Laura Tisdel at Viking in the U.S. and James Roxburgh at Atlantic in the U.K., and it’s a powerful reminder of the importance of longevity and trust in the editorial relationship.”
Lynn Buckley
“The design process involved not just reading but slowing down to deeply notice and catalog all the unique details in this strange, delicious, and important novel. Then I gathered lush, vivid imagery that
I could manipulate to indicate the transformation or glitch in a peculiar, fabricated, romantic world.”
