The Literary Consequences of Brexit...

A new woman started at my Weight Watchers last week. She wasn't totally new. She'd been a member a few years ago, before she'd had a baby. As I was getting a coffee, she asked me if the app was the same as it'd been back then. Did she need to manually type in her weight every week. I confidently replied that she didn't. Since we got scannable cards, our data syncs to our apps without having to do anything. She thanked me and that was that. 

But, oh the shame of it all! That night, when I was playing about with a new feature on the app (if you collect enough 'wins' you can swap them for a water bottle or similar - cha-ching!) I noticed that a recent re-jig included the requirement to manually type in your weekly weight again. I felt sick. I'd given the woman duff information. I hadn't lied knowingly, but she'd walked away thinking one thing, when the truth was the complete opposite. Fast forward to the following WW meeting, and I confessed immediately. Fair play to her, she took my opening words of, 'I've been thinking about you all week,' in her stride, and then laughed when she realised I'd felt bad for misleading her. She'd worked it out herself. She was fine. Pheewwweeee.

Yep

I wonder if those that extolled the virtues of Brexit feel the same way. Those politicians that confidently claimed how easy it would be to negotiate a deal - have they ever paused to feel guilt about the misconceptions they spouted? If we take it on face value that they didn't deliberately lie - a big stretch but let's go with it - are they frantically making amends at their first opportunity. Are they door-knocking every constituent they misled, and explaining that they hadn't released the reality of the situation? Of course they're not. Otherwise we wouldn't be where we are. 

I've resisted the urge to write about Brexit since the whole sorry mess happened. And I'm going to continue to resit, so don't worry about that. Far more intelligent people than me have got this covered. Marina Hyde, James O'Brien, Ian Dunt - they're all there to google. And there's a whole load of opposing views alongside them. So far, I've contained my opinions to personal conversations and the odd retweet, and that's fine. Besides, with each passing day, a new twist or development takes place. I'm writing this a week or so before I plan to post it. Who knows what the situation will be then. Probably not the people in charge of achieving it. But let's leave the specifics aside, other than to say it's interesting (definitely a euphemism) how the consequences of Brexit affect different groups of people. Small businesses, UK-based EU citizens, car manufacturers, the NHS, (medicine shortages and price rises have already kicked in) and haulage companies. These groups understand how leaving the EU will affect them. 

So what about the contemporary fiction author? How will Brexit affect my area of expertise? In the words of the most selfish baby ever, 'What about me? Wahhhhhhh!'

A troubling thought occurred to me the other day. I've been mulling it over but I can't see an alternative. Let me explain. Can you imagine reading a novel set in 1940s London that doesn't mention the war? You can't, can you? It'd be all blackout curtains, bombed buildings, and air raid sirens, even if that were just background for a family saga or political thriller. Likewise, can you picture yourself settling down to some realistic fiction based in Dresden during February 1945, without it featuring the devastating fire storm? It just wouldn't happen. The events of the time were too far-reaching and all-encompassing. Here's a more recent example. How about a New York romance in the Fall of 2001 that never even hints at the aftermath of 9/11? Just no. Not likely at all. It can't be done. Unless your genre is science fiction or fantasy, it's impossible. Some events that take place, change everything that comes after. They can't be left out or forgotten when that era is literarily evoked. So it begs the question, how can I ever again, write a witty yet dramatic, ultimately upbeat contemporary, North of England-based novel, without mentioning Brexit? 

My next book that I'm currently planning is a sequel to my first. Carry the Beautiful was set in 2016. The next part of the story takes place a couple of years later - that makes it fall squarely in the midst of the two year negotiation window that began with the triggering of Article 50. Will my characters debate at length, or feel uncomfortable when the B word is mentioned? Will their personal finances and job security have changed since the previous instalment? Are they politically engaged or do they switch off the nightly news in order to keep calm? Whether I like it or not, I have to think about how I incorporate this into my fiction if I want it to ring true. The problem is, for someone who likes writing witty dramas that are ultimately upbeat, I really wish I didn't have to.

Have a lovely week, folks.