Emily Chappell: What Goes Around, A London Cycle Courier's Story
Nick Higham talks to Emily Chappell about her novel What Goes Around, A London Cycle Courier's Story, telling of the conflict and harmony between bicycle and road, body and mind.
Nick Higham talks to Emily Chappell about her novel What Goes Around, A London Cycle Courier's Story.
Emily Chappell never meant to be a cycle courier. She thought it would be a useful stopgap while searching for a 'real' job. Today, six years on, she is still pedalling. 'It's my most enduring love affair; the career that's shaped my life, made me what I am, and entirely derailed any hope of a normal existence.'
Chappell records the pain and pleasure - both mental and physical - of life on wheels: the hurtling, dangerous missions; the ebb and flow of seasonal work; the moments of fear and freedom, anger and exhaustion; the camaraderie of the courier tribe and its idiosyncratic characters; the conflict and harmony between bicycle and road, body and mind.
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