Before I interview Sally Rooney, I catch a glimpse of her having her photograph taken. Dressed simply in dark blue, tapered trousers, a light, neutral top, and no jewellery, she holds her chin in different positions on instruction, looks in different directions. The process of being photographed is not something she particularly enjoys. Lately, she has been photographed a lot.
It's hard to overstate the extent to which Rooney is the novelist of the moment. At 27, she has been longlisted for the Man Booker Prize (the youngest nominee is still Jon McGregor, who was 26 when longlisted in 2002). She has been claimed, in reviews, interviews and on social media, as a totemic novelist for the Millennial generation.
