Hilary Mantel stated that she was “ashamed” of the British government’s treatment of immigrants and asylum seekers and intended to become an Irish citizen in order to “be European again”.
In an extensive interview with La RepubblicaThe novelist who won the Booker Prize twice also published her views on the monarchy, telling how endometriosis “destroyed my life” and that Boris Johnson “should not appear in public life.” . She also talked about criticism of JK Rowling and her stance on transgender rights.
In response to questions about Priti Patel’s remarks about immigrants and asylum seekers and whether this marks the “ugliest side of the new’global Britain’ post-Brexit”, the writer told Italy Publication: “It’s my grandparents’ generation that immigrated [from Ireland]; Sometimes my life is confused with my novels, because some of my characters’ parents are Irish.
“We saw the ugly face of contemporary Britain in the people on the beach. They tortured exhausted refugees, even if they scrambled to climb to the shore. It is ashamed.
“Of course, I am ashamed to live in the country that elected this government and allow myself to be led by it.”
When asked whether Britain’s “soft power” could be sustainable, she said: “Our current government has sent different signals – to brag about a’globalized Britain’ and at the same time weaken the country’s status by cutting foreign aid, as if it were A broken country. A small country that cannot fulfill its promises.”
The Derbyshire-born novelist was also asked about his obsession with the British monarchy.
she says: “The popularity of monarchy as a system puzzles me.
“I don’t want to think that people are born slaves and actually enjoy inequality… I may breathe easier in the republic and may arrange it. I hope to return to my family story and become an Irish citizen.”
She said she hoped to leave England and relocate. “Our planned relocation has been blocked by Covid, but even though I really like where I live now-a western country, by the sea-I feel it necessary to pack up and become European again.”
Interviewer Antonello Guerrera Mantel was also asked about Johnson and whether she agreed that “his character is much more complicated than the stereotyped’Brexit/Joker/etc'”.
Mantel was criticized for telling the story of the former prime minister. The assassination of Margaret Thatcher, Said: “I have seen him many times in different environments. I agree that he is a complicated person, but it is very simple-he should not appear in public life. And I believe he knows this.”
Mantel’s autobiography “Giving Up the Ghost”, Published in 2003 and is now being published Italy.
The 69-year-old said that through writing, she can disclose her endometriosis. “For me, this situation and the treatments tried have destroyed my life. Many cases have been undiagnosed for many years, causing immense suffering. I am happy to have played a small part in the dialogue surrounding this situation.”
The author added that when she was a young woman, she did not want children until she was diagnosed with the disease at the age of 27, when “my physical disaster canceled the choice”. However, now, she longs for grandchildren.
“No one likes to close a locked door. Fortunately for me, I have never felt extreme lack like some women without children. But I wish I had grandchildren. At this stage of my life, I feel the deepest. “
Mantel is also embroiled in controversy surrounding Rowling’s beliefs in transgender rights, which have divided the literary world.
The author of Harry Potter wrote a personal essay last year that included examples of what she thought transgender activists’ demands were harmful to women, which LGBTQ+ advocacy groups described as division and fear of transgender.
Later, Rowling, Salman Rushdie, Margaret Atwood and others wrote an open letter warning that the spread of “criticality” was leading to “intolerance of objections” and “public humiliation and humiliation”. The epidemic of exclusion”.
Mantel said that after Rowling’s article was published, online attacks on her were “irrational and shameful.”
She added: “A very small number of people should control public discourse and terrorize those who disagree with them. This is barbaric.”
She said: “I recently discovered that I was’gender wrong.’ I received a university publication with news about alumni, where I was called “them” instead of “she.”
“My book is’their book’. I have not been singled out-other alumni have received similar treatment.
“I thought:’Being a woman means a lot to me. I don’t want my female identity to be confiscated in print.'”
