Tessa Hadley Reads John McGahern

Deborah Treisman· Host0:00

[upbeat music] This is "The New Yorker Fiction" podcast from The New Yorker magazine. I'm Deborah Treisman, fiction editor at The New Yorker. Each month, we invite a writer to choose a story from the magazine's archives to read and discuss. This month, we're going to hear Gold Watch by John McGahern, which appeared in The New Yorker in March of 1980.

Tessa Hadley· Guest0:25

I knew myself too well. There was more caution than any love or charity in my habitual going home. It was unattractive, and it had been learned in the bitter school of my ungiving father.

Deborah Treisman· Host0:38

The story was chosen by Tessa Hadley, who's the author of 13 books of fiction, including the story collections Bad Dreams and After the Funeral, and the novella The Party, which came out in 2024. Hi, Tessa.

Tessa Hadley· Guest0:54

Hi, Deborah.

Deborah Treisman· Host0:54

Welcome back to the podcast.

Tessa Hadley· Guest0:56

Ah, what a, what a treat.

Deborah Treisman· Host0:58

So, Tessa, in previous episodes of the podcast, you read stories by Nadine Gordimer and John Updike.

Tessa Hadley· Guest1:04

Hmm.

Deborah Treisman· Host1:05

Do those writers have anything in common with McGahern for you? Are they part of a, a kind of, uh, triumvirate of writers for you?

Tessa Hadley· Guest1:12

They are in my inner circle of beloved writers, all three of them. They are among my favorite short story writers, yeah.

Deborah Treisman· Host1:21

Yeah. Um, what-- Tell me about your connection with John McGahern's work. When did you first read him?

Tessa Hadley· Guest1:27

I'm not sure. Uh, sometime in