‘Money ruins our lives’: novelist Kiley Reid on education, excess and what makes us squirm

Following her bestselling debut Such a Fun Age, Reid has turned to campus life for her new book Come and Get It. She talks class, money and why becoming a mother has made her a better writer

‘I knew I wanted to write about young people and money,” says Kiley Reid, recalling the moment in spring 2019 when the idea for her next book came into view. She had finished editing her debut, the much-loved Such a Fun Age, and was completing her masters degree in fiction at the University of Iowa. She began interviewing undergraduates about their relationship to money, paying them $15 for 40 minutes of their time. She asked them about their interpretation of “load-bearing” words, like “classy”, and “trashy”. One student mentioned her dad’s habit of paying her “practice paychecks” from his office’s payroll, though she did not work for him. It seemed Reid had stumbled upon a creative way to practise corporate fraud; she also had the beginnings of a new novel.

We are speaking over tea in a central London hotel, at a bar with deep red walls, gilded furnishings and a tea menu that is several pages long. It seems particularly appropriate for a conversation about money, class and cultural capital. Reid, 36, has just flown over from Michigan, where she lives and works as a writing professor. Wearing a summery dress that appears optimistic against today’s stormy sky, she is warm and relaxed, unfazed by both the travel and the weather.