How the 2016 election affected noir novel "The Feral Detective"

Author Jonathan Lethem was among the many caught by surprise by the 2016 presidential election.

In his mind, he was slightly more prepared for the confusion that followed, because of his past as a science-fiction writer.

Still, Lethem wasn’t exactly feeling motivated to follow up on the story idea he’d expected to work on during a Hillary Clinton administration.

But like people do after any great change or upheaval, he adjusted his perspective and his novel according to the new reality.

Lethem’s new book, The Feral Detective, is narrated by a journalist who quits her job after the election and heads west to help find a missing woman.

There, she meets the novel’s title character and goes off on such adventures as a shootout on a Ferris wheel.

Lethem discussed his writing process and the final work on All Things Considered with Mary Louise Kelly; you can listen to their conversation below or read interview highlights on NPR’s website.