Feel free to ask me about anything at all—I’m truly unflappable!” Emma Jane Unsworth has inadvertently spoken the exact words that every interviewer dreams of hearing—though this openness shouldn’t come as too much of a shock. This statement aligns perfectly with her reputation as an author who has fearlessly tackled some of the last ten years’ boldest and most provocative works delving into the lives of millennials and Generation X women. Just reading one of her books confirms this.
Animals
, her raw, culturally-relevant 2014 novel about two friends “destroying themselves” through relentless debauchery, serves to illustrate that this author isn’t hesitant to tackle provocative themes head-on. Labeled as “
Withnail
As admired by Caitlin Moran in her work “For Girls,” the
The book was later turned into a feature film.
featuring Holliday Grainger and Alia Shawkat.
Unsworth’s follow-up, 2020’s
Adults
, navigates the complex landscape of miscarriage, mental health, and social media addiction; her most recent book, with its provocative title,
Slags
is also an unrelenting exploration of initial romance, imagination, and sexual orientation.
It must have an element of fear, don’t you think?” Unsworth comments about her work. “Frequently, I find myself squirming as I write, and often I’m petrified—like, ‘should I include this? Really?’
That rawness translates into realness on the page; Unsworth has a knack for sketching out nuanced characters who feel viscerally alive.
Slags
is no exception, told from the perspective of 41-year-old Sarah as she and her younger sister, Juliette, embark on a birthday road trip to Scotland, which segues into an uncomfortable yet poignant trip down memory lane.
While Unsworth’s women are often plagued by inner turmoil and darkness, they are also whip-smart and belly-laugh witty – unlike a lot of the wilting protagonists found in the trendy
“sad girl” literary trope
. “We should be allowed to contain all these multitudes – able to be very funny, but also really troubled and lost and messy,” she says. “For me, that’s what carries the momentum, the joy in that sharp dialogue.” You can get away with a lot, she adds – and have characters doing “pretty awful things” – if you make them fun to be around. “Then your readers will come along for the ride and enjoy it.”
When I encounter Unsworth at a London cafe ahead of the book launch day, she exudes vitality. Dressed in wide-legged, white pinstripe pants paired with a complementary vest, she cuts an image of effortless chic that could seem daunting but for her immediate and welcoming demeanor. Her fair complexion contrasts nicely with her strawberry-blonde curls, neatly arranged away from her face; her deep-blue eyes sparkle brightly as she speaks rapidly yet clearly in her gentle Manchester accent. “I was quite nervous a few weeks back,” she confesses about the pre-launch jitters.
Slags
‘ s upcoming release. “Now, I’m calm. It’s in the hands of the literary deities.”
The narrative of this book jumps backward and forward in time, alternating between scenes from Sarah’s adulthood and her teenage years. Is it possible to completely shed the persona that was established during our developmental stages? “In my view,” Unsworth reflects, “we repeatedly reach maturity throughout our lives. And these moments often make us believe that we are being distinctly characterized. During youth, this characterization tends to be heavily influenced by others, largely based on how they define who we are.”
Her own teen self was “gobby”, loud and attention-seeking – but she “wasn’t very solid”. “Part of the inspiration for the book was just wanting to make myself, the teenage me who’s still inside, more resilient,” Unsworth says. Fifteen-year-old Sarah fits the same mould. With so many hormones kicking around, she sizzles with power and confidence yet is quivering with fragility and innocence beneath the brash facade. It’s an affliction that, Unsworth believes,
impacts
teenage girls
no matter which era they’re born in: “You have all this desire and a burning urge to express yourself and work out who you are and put yourself out there. But at the same time, you’re really vulnerable.” How can we empower and protect teenage girls at the same time? “I feel like that’s what we need to do, but I don’t know what the answer is. The book is in some way an exploration of that dilemma.”
She posits that female fantasy could be one essential outlet, offering young women agency and autonomy in a world that often robs them of both. The young Sarah lives inside a world of romantic make-believe so potent it seems to warp the very fabric of reality to fit the narrative in her head. “I think we’re encouraged to feel ashamed of our fantasies, especially women,” muses Unsworth. “It’s like a dirty, silly word, all frilly knickers and s*** porn. But actually, fantasies can be so nourishing and valuable and strengthening. I’ve definitely used them as such a healing place in my life.”
Since her own adolescence, Unsworth has had a “big recalibration of who I am and what I want” about once a decade. Much of her former sense of identity was bound up in the vision of herself as the
eternal “party girl”
, epitomised by the uncouth, seize-the-night double-act in
Animals
(“I will always press the damn-it button. I enjoy pressing the damn-it button,” she quips). Her work often delves into the connection between female protagonists and their consumption of alcohol and drugs; there’s an intriguing focus on the occasionally fuzzy line distinguishing an addict from a pleasure-seeker.
For Unsworth, she clearly identifies more with the latter perspective. To her, there has always been an inherent romance associated with the concept of being intoxicated; it represents “liberation, a turning point.” She states, “While addiction is indeed a trap, a sickness, and a devastating force that destroys entire families and lives,” for her personal experience, her connection with substances such as drugs and alcohol was primarily about escaping reality. These things embody a chaotic state where one feels free to act without constraints. It’s akin to entering a space where societal expectations cease to matter…
I speak as someone who constantly questions whether it was the right thing for me to have children
However, certain social norms prove extremely difficult to avoid. Consistently adhering to this routine each evening doesn’t align well with Unsworth’s present lifestyle as a parent to two small kids and a caregiver for her aging parents; she has vehemently resisted changing gears but also feels compelled to adapt. “Raising children brings its distinct form of happiness along with significant duties—I have substantial physical demands placed upon me by my kids at the moment.”
Having had kids in her late thirties, Unsworth both loves and wrestles with the role of “mother”. “Regret is something that interests me,” she says, “And I speak as someone who constantly questions whether it was the right thing for me to have children personally, as well as feeling very grateful that they exist.” While any big life decision feels heavy, the baby question is on a whole other level, she argues – “it’s
such
A tough one designed for women.
As someone who senses the immense burden of that decision growing exponentially heavier,
The nearer I approach 40 years of age, the more this realization strikes me.
It’s a topic that’s skillfully handled here.
Slags
. Sarah is a Gen X workaholic who’s voluntarily single; her younger sister has done the marriage and kids thing. The former laments that “it is so hard to walk the walk of
being a childfree woman
”, even by choice – and though Unsworth is no longer walking that particular path herself, its challenges still resonate. “It’s really insidious, the way that pressures are put onto women to do certain things and be a certain way by a certain age,” she says. “We’re still advertised that it’s more valuable to have a life if you’re a mother, and that there’s only one way to
be
But she has consistently strived to offer an alternative perspective in her creations — ‘various joyful conclusions, distinct pathways that hold equal significance, worth, and satisfaction.’
What might be most captivating about
Slags
is the central relationship between the two sisters. It’s gratifying to see in literature what has been deftly achieved on screen in recent years in shows such as Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s
Fleabag
and Aisling Bea’s
This Way Up
: an irresistibly authentic depiction of the female sibling dynamic in all its knotty complexity.Sarah and Juliette hold a mirror up to one another, the only people schooled in their own secret language built on a lifetime of shared cultural references and experiences.
Inspired by the relationship between Sarah and Juliette – they speak of a “heart alarm”, a golden thread attached to the ribs that runs between them – and my own sister/soulmate, I wonder aloud whether siblings can end up being the real loves of each other’s lives. “Oh, completely,” agrees Unsworth, herself a big sister (a status that, she believes, has defined every other relationship she’s ever had). “Who else do you have a shared history with like that?” She describes the relationship she has with her younger sister – three years Unsworth’s junior – as the “most complicated” of her life. After growing up together, you’re left with something that’s “extremely complex, durable, heartbreaking, terrifying but edifying,” says the author.
On top of “big sister”, Unsworth has recently acquired two new labels following an
ADHD
and
autism
diagnosis last year. The former was expected; the latter, not so much. The revelation has prompted her to probe the interplay between neurodivergence and intoxication. “It’s made me think about how much I’ve used things like alcohol, because it’s a coping mechanism, at parties and things like that – as well as really enjoying it.”
However, there has definitely been a generational change regarding getting completely drunk.
Slags
Sarah is experimenting with abstinence, yet she finds it incredibly dull. She laments “the dreary stillness of Saturday evenings when nobody ventured out anymore to walk the streets filled with zeal or fervor,” observing that
Generation Z favors coffee and conversations.
To pubs and nightclubs. Although she isn’t criticizing the younger generation, Unsworth doesn’t fully agree that the change from binge drinking to wellness culture is as “healthier” as it might seem.
Every now and then, you just need that big fire for your head
“The ideas about what’s beautiful and the way that women should look… sadly, it’s
not all this free and easy wellbeing goodness,
” she says. “I actually think there’s still a lot of pressure and a lot of
anxiety
a significant amount of harm is being inflicted upon individuals.
She thinks there’s merit in occasionally relinquishing control and letting loose, suggesting that a wild night out can help clear away life’s distractions and pressures. “It’s like a cleansing,” she remarks nostalgically, “when everything seems torn down.” “Once in a while, you just require that massive bonfire for your mind…”
A mental shift is just as probable to arise from the startling difference in temperatures.
beachside sauna
And an ice bath in her adopted hometown of Brighton instead of using mind-altering substances nowadays. However, this may change in the future. She envisions herself in her seventies, dashing through Soho, sipping drinks and dancing wildly. It’s easy for me to imagine: unruly silver curls, eyes sharp and vibrant, holding a cocktail in one hand and a generous glass of wine in the other. “There will always be a part of me that loves to party,” she remarks with a grin. “Right now, she’s taking a small break—but she’ll rise again and get right back into the thick of things.”
Slags is published by
HarperCollins
on 8 May
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