WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.600 Hey everyone, welcome to the show. Great to be 00:00:01.600 --> 00:00:05.160 here. So think about this. The world you know 00:00:05.160 --> 00:00:10.320 can just flip in an instant. What's normal becomes 00:00:10.320 --> 00:00:14.179 chaos and suddenly you're face to face with the 00:00:14.179 --> 00:00:17.760 really raw parts of being human. That's a powerful 00:00:17.760 --> 00:00:19.739 way to put it and it definitely sets the stage 00:00:19.739 --> 00:00:22.000 for what we're diving into today. Exactly. We're 00:00:22.000 --> 00:00:25.199 talking about Tilt by Emma Paddy. It's contemporary 00:00:25.199 --> 00:00:28.000 fiction and it really throws you right into that. 00:00:28.250 --> 00:00:31.230 kind of moment. It really does. Tilt basically 00:00:31.230 --> 00:00:33.750 drops you into Portland, Oregon with Annie. She's 00:00:33.750 --> 00:00:35.609 pregnant, just doing a totally normal thing, 00:00:35.670 --> 00:00:37.469 buying a crib at Ikea. Right. The most mundane 00:00:37.469 --> 00:00:39.789 setting. The most mundane. And then, bam, this 00:00:39.789 --> 00:00:42.689 huge earthquake hits. The whole story unfolds 00:00:42.689 --> 00:00:44.869 right there from her perspective in the immediate 00:00:44.869 --> 00:00:47.850 aftermath. So you're seeing the chaos, the loss. 00:00:48.690 --> 00:00:51.890 Her desperate to find her partner, Dom. Exactly. 00:00:51.890 --> 00:00:54.229 It's very focused, very ground level. You're 00:00:54.229 --> 00:00:56.490 experiencing it with her, not just watching it 00:00:56.490 --> 00:00:58.170 happen. Yeah, that's one of the things I absolutely 00:00:58.170 --> 00:01:00.469 love. The way Patti captures the quake itself 00:01:00.469 --> 00:01:03.270 and like how it shatters everyday life. Yeah. 00:01:03.429 --> 00:01:06.890 It felt so visceral, you know, that feeling of 00:01:06.890 --> 00:01:08.989 being in Ikea surrounded by flat pack furniture 00:01:08.989 --> 00:01:12.530 and then just utter chaos. You felt that confusion. 00:01:12.790 --> 00:01:15.659 Definitely. And she does such a good job. connecting 00:01:15.659 --> 00:01:18.219 that huge event to Annie's inner world. It's 00:01:18.219 --> 00:01:19.959 not just about the buildings falling down. No, 00:01:19.980 --> 00:01:23.299 not at all. It's about her fears about becoming 00:01:23.299 --> 00:01:25.680 a mother, her relationship stuff, things from 00:01:25.680 --> 00:01:28.579 her past bubbling up. It makes the whole disaster 00:01:28.579 --> 00:01:31.560 feel incredibly personal. Did that aspect stand 00:01:31.560 --> 00:01:34.099 out to you too? Oh, absolutely. Staying so close 00:01:34.099 --> 00:01:36.400 to Annie, you feel the weight of everything she's 00:01:36.400 --> 00:01:38.099 going through physically and emotionally. It's 00:01:38.099 --> 00:01:42.510 intense. Right. But what also really... Hit home 00:01:42.510 --> 00:01:45.290 for me were these moments, these unexpected connections. 00:01:45.909 --> 00:01:47.870 Even in the middle of all that mess, you see 00:01:47.870 --> 00:01:50.730 people helping each other. Little sparks of humanity. 00:01:51.150 --> 00:01:52.870 Yeah, those moments are crucial, aren't they? 00:01:52.909 --> 00:01:54.849 Like little points of light. It shows that even 00:01:54.849 --> 00:01:57.510 when everything's collapsing, that need for connection, 00:01:57.750 --> 00:02:00.510 for support, it's still there. Totally. Her interactions 00:02:00.510 --> 00:02:03.069 with other survivors, even the brief ones, they 00:02:03.069 --> 00:02:05.730 really underscore that. Makes you think. It does. 00:02:05.829 --> 00:02:08.569 How people react under that kind of extreme pressure. 00:02:09.099 --> 00:02:12.819 Now, okay, if I had to mention something I maybe 00:02:12.819 --> 00:02:15.819 didn't love quite as much, and this is really 00:02:15.819 --> 00:02:20.240 just me. Go on. Sometimes, Annie's internal thoughts, 00:02:20.259 --> 00:02:25.300 her inner monologue, it felt almost a bit much. 00:02:25.460 --> 00:02:28.539 Like, really intense. Ah, okay. I see what you 00:02:28.539 --> 00:02:30.639 mean. Because you're so deep inside her head. 00:02:30.780 --> 00:02:33.180 Sometimes I felt like the wider picture, the 00:02:33.180 --> 00:02:35.680 scale of the disaster outside her immediate bubble, 00:02:35.819 --> 00:02:38.360 kind of faded a little. What's your take? That's 00:02:38.360 --> 00:02:40.460 a fair point. I think it's kind of the tradeoff 00:02:40.460 --> 00:02:42.719 the author makes, you know. Yeah. By keeping 00:02:42.719 --> 00:02:45.599 that focus so tight on Annie, you get that incredible 00:02:45.599 --> 00:02:48.379 immediacy, that raw feeling. But like you said, 00:02:48.419 --> 00:02:50.400 you maybe lose some of the breath seeing how 00:02:50.400 --> 00:02:51.939 it's hitting everyone else right there. Right. 00:02:51.960 --> 00:02:54.060 It's a narrative choice. Exactly. A deliberate 00:02:54.060 --> 00:02:56.400 one, I think. And sort of related maybe some 00:02:56.400 --> 00:02:58.340 of the other characters. They're important to 00:02:58.340 --> 00:03:01.300 Annie's journey, like Gretchen, Dom's colleague. 00:03:01.719 --> 00:03:03.939 I just found myself wishing we got a little more 00:03:03.939 --> 00:03:06.479 from them. A bit more development, maybe see 00:03:06.479 --> 00:03:09.099 their own experiences a bit more clearly. Yeah, 00:03:09.199 --> 00:03:11.379 I can see that. Giving them more space could 00:03:11.379 --> 00:03:14.099 have painted a perhaps richer picture of the 00:03:14.099 --> 00:03:16.759 overall impact. Right. But again, keeping it 00:03:16.759 --> 00:03:19.379 focused on Annie really hammers home that feeling 00:03:19.379 --> 00:03:22.159 of individual struggle, that sort of primal need 00:03:22.159 --> 00:03:25.020 to find your people when disaster strikes. Her 00:03:25.020 --> 00:03:28.280 story becomes the emotional anchor. Yeah, that 00:03:28.280 --> 00:03:32.520 makes sense. Overall, though, wow. Tilt is just, 00:03:32.560 --> 00:03:35.509 it's a really powerful book. Sticks with you. 00:03:35.550 --> 00:03:37.289 Definitely. I'd easily give it four out of five 00:03:37.289 --> 00:03:40.830 stars. It just nails how something catastrophic 00:03:40.830 --> 00:03:43.210 can strip everything away. Yeah. And show you 00:03:43.210 --> 00:03:44.889 what people are really made of, the vulnerability 00:03:44.889 --> 00:03:47.430 and the resilience. Absolutely. It forces you 00:03:47.430 --> 00:03:49.610 to think, you know, beyond just the physical 00:03:49.610 --> 00:03:52.270 damage, what happens to relationships, to your 00:03:52.270 --> 00:03:54.969 priorities when the ground literally shifts beneath 00:03:54.969 --> 00:03:57.610 you. Yeah. What really matters in that moment. 00:03:57.870 --> 00:04:00.389 So if this deep dive into tilt sounds interesting. 00:04:01.289 --> 00:04:03.069 If you want to experience Annie's story yourself, 00:04:03.370 --> 00:04:05.729 we've put a link to buy the book on Amazon down 00:04:05.729 --> 00:04:07.270 in the description. Definitely worth the read. 00:04:07.430 --> 00:04:08.789 And hey, if you enjoyed this chat, please give 00:04:08.789 --> 00:04:11.409 us a like and subscribe. That way you won't miss 00:04:11.409 --> 00:04:13.530 our next deep dive. We appreciate the support. 00:04:14.150 --> 00:04:15.909 Seriously, thanks so much for joining us today. 00:04:16.149 --> 00:04:17.810 We'd really love to hear from you all. Was there 00:04:17.810 --> 00:04:20.910 a moment in our discussion today that particularly 00:04:20.910 --> 00:04:23.029 resonated? Or maybe something from the book itself, 00:04:23.149 --> 00:04:26.110 if you've read it. Yeah. Share your thoughts 00:04:26.110 --> 00:04:27.970 or favorite takeaways in the comments below. 00:04:28.509 --> 00:04:30.589 And feel free to share this discussion with anyone 00:04:30.589 --> 00:04:33.170 else who might be interested. Let's keep talking 00:04:33.170 --> 00:04:35.529 about tilt and the themes it brings up.