Recorded live at Sappho Books, Sydney.

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In this conversation, I’m joined by Lexi Freiman. She is the author of a satirical new novel about "cringe icon" Ayn Rand, which has been hailed by the LA Times as the funniest and unruliest novels in ages. "It shakes you by the shoulders until you laugh, vomit or both.." It's called The Book of Ayn. I was interested in talking to Lexi, not least because when I heard about the topic of her novel, I thought, no, really? Wow. And then reading it I discovered how smart and funny and probing it is. Lexi's first novel Inappropriation, is a satire on private girls school culture, was longlisted for the centre for Fiction First Novel Prize and the Miles Franklin Award. She's a graduate of Columbia's MFA in fiction. She writes for New York Magazine and for TV.

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The three influential texts that Lexi chose were:

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• Yoga, Emmanuel Carrere

• A Simple Passion, Annie Ernaux

• Straw Dogs, John Gray