Peirene Now! No. 2: The Cut

THE RESULT OF THE EU REFERENDUM SHOCKED ME. I REALIZED THAT I HAD BEEN LIVING IN ONE PART OF A DIVIDED COUNTRY. WHAT FEARS – AND WHAT HOPES – DROVE MY FELLOW CITIZENS TO VOTE FOR BREXIT? I COMMISSIONED ANTHONY CARTWRIGHT TO BUILD A FICTIONAL BRIDGE BETWEEN THE TWO BRITAINS THAT OPPOSED EACH OTHER ON REFERENDUM DAY.

Meike Ziervogel

I WANTED TO WRITE THIS BOOK BECAUSE, LIKE MANY PEOPLE, IN THE DAYS AFTER THE REFERENDUM I FELT ANGRY. BUT I QUICKLY REALIZED THAT MY ANGER WAS DIFFERENT. I WAS OUTRAGED AT A REACTION WHICH LABELLED SEVENTEEN AND A HALF MILLION PEOPLE “STUPID” OR “RACIST” OR SIMPLY LACKING (TOO POOR, TOO OLD, TOO FAR AWAY FROM LONDON, TOO WHITE). IN THE CUT, I WANTED TO ANALYSE THE COMPLEX DIVISIONS UNDERMINING BRITISH SOCIETY. WE’VE BEEN OFFERED TOO MANY ANSWERS ALREADY, THIS IS A STORY BUILT ON QUESTIONS.

Anthony Cartwright

The Cut is a commissioned novel about Brexit. Both during the campaign leading up to the referendum, and after the vote to leave the EU, the newspapers, radio & social media were filled with anger and division. This led us to ask what fiction’s role in this situation can be? Our answer is this book, a novel which doesn’t judge or pigeonhole, but takes an honest look at how we think about each other.

We funded this book through a Kickstarter campaign, in which we raised £6,745 with the help of 236 Peirene readers.