"Life isn't just one note."

In an exclusive interview with Her.ie, author and podcaster Elizabeth Day opened up about the impact Irish writers have had on her both personally and professionally.

There is one Irish author the Derry-born writer adores, and that is the remarkable Anne Enright.

Speaking about the impact Anne Enright has had on her, Elizabeth Day said:

“Anne Enright is an extraordinary writer, and something that she said in an interview has always stuck with me. She talked about how she didn't understand these authors who were trying to be so terribly serious in their prose, which is something I believe I was guilty of with my first couple of novels, because I wanted to be taken seriously as a writer."

She continued, "Life isn't just one note. Life isn't just serious.

“Life is funny and absurd and tragic and sad and mundane and beautiful and all of the things. And so to deny yourself a sense of humor about that is to deny yourself the fullness of life. And it just really opened up something in my mind, and she's so right.

"What she does so deftly as a writer is she writes with that humor, but she also makes these very moving and profound points as she does it.”

It's impossible not to mention Sally Rooney when discussing Ireland's best writers

Day quipped, "Sally Rooney, let me be the first person ever to mention this underrated writer who you might not have heard of called Sally Rooney. But part of what I admire about Sally Rooney is her determination to play by her own rules.

"There's so much pressure, particularly with female authors or any woman in the public eye, for that woman to go out and promote her work and to put a face to her work and to do everything that she can.

"And that's one way of thinking, and I'm definitely someone who enjoys doing that, but I think Sally Rooney has been meticulous about the kind of media that she will and won't do and the kind of message she does and doesn't want to convey.

"What that does is it puts her work front and centre, and I kind of really admire that."

Elizabeth Day’s new novel One Of Us is out now.

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One Of Us, which is one of our top picks for November. It’s a gripping, thought-provoking read that you will stay up all night reading.

Day has perfectly crafted a story about betrayal, old bonds, and buried scandals as one British establishment family comes face to face with the consequences of privilege.

Buy here.