‘We want to read about people falling in love’: Curtis Sittenfeld and Marian Keyes on the romcom revival

<p>The American and Irish novelists discuss the joys of writing romance, standing up to the critics and why we’re in a ‘golden age’ for the menopause</p><p>Curtis Sittenfeld is the author of seven novels, including American Wife and Rodham, reimaginings of the lives of Laura Bush and Hillary Clinton. Her new novel, Romantic Comedy, revolves around a TV sketch show based on Saturday Night Live, and dissects celebrity culture in a love story set during the pandemic, much of which takes place via email exchange. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/marian-keyes">Marian Keyes</a> is the author of 15 bestselling novels, several of which centre on the daughters of the Walsh family; the most recent is Again, Rachel. Her books frequently feature characters dealing with issues such as addiction, bereavement and domestic violence. She is also the co-host, with Tara Flynn, of the BBC Radio 4 advice programme Now You’re Asking. Their conversation took place over Zoom with both authors in their homes, Sittenfeld in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Keyes in Dun Laoghaire, Dublin.</p><p><strong>Marian Keyes:</strong> I was so excited when I heard that a new book from you was coming, because I would read anything you write. And I was thrilled at the idea of Curtis Sittenfeld writing in the romance genre. When I finished the last book I wrote, I had a big plan for a novel about a group of six characters who had been friends for 40 years. And one of them had become a kind of quite evil rich person. But when it came to starting it, I couldn’t do it, because the world after the pandemic just got worse. And I thought, I just want to write something lovely, where the stakes are kind of low, except on a personal level. So I started writing another love story. It really seems that people want to read about people falling in love and being good to each other. Because the world is so sharp and pointy, we need something nicer.&l