Haleh Agar – Favourite Things

Each week Reaction Weekend brings you Favourite Things – interviews with interesting people about the skills, hobbies, pleasures and pastimes that make them who they are.

Haleh Agar is a novelist, short story writer and essayist. Her short story, Not Contagious, was highly commended by the 2020 Costa Short Story Award. She won the Brighton Prize for a piece of flash fiction, and her narrative essay On Writing Ethnic Stories won The London Magazine’s inaugural essay competition. Her debut novel, Out of Touch, about estrangement and reconnection, is available for purchase here.

These are a few of her favourite things…

Films about large scale disasters

Nothing brings me more pleasure than watching a disaster film with a bowl of microwave popcorn. The more improbable the science behind the unfolding events, the better. There is something deeply satisfying about watching characters dealign with a tornado, hurricane, molten lava, the splitting earth – escaping completely unscathed. At the very top of my disaster films list has to be The Day After Tomorrow. Jake Gyllenhaal outrunning fatally cold weather never gets old. Every time, I think—is he going to make it?

Canadian authors

I am probably biased as a Canadian, but I’m very fond of short stories and novels by Canadian women. My favourite author is Alice Munro. Her short story collection The Moons of Jupiter inspired me to become a writer. Her work is so sharply observed and her style is elegant and honest, without any pretention. Stories about every day really speak to me. Life is about small moments, and I have a lot of admiration for authors who can skillfully shine a light on the mundane. A few other Canadian authors who I highly recommend include: Kim Thuy, Carol Shields, Kai Cheng Thom and Emma Donoghue.

Early 2000s rap and R&B

Music from this era makes everything better. When I’m washing up, cooking, exercising or getting myself excited about leaving the house – I turn to the classics, and feel instantly energized and uplifted. ‘The Chronic 2001’ by Dre is one of my favourite albums. The music of Usher, Lil’ Jon and the Ying Yang Twins, Missy Elliott, 50 Cent and Ciara, to name a few,  still brings me joy. Admittedly, I am very out of the loop with current music. But it feels in those moments, when I’m blaring early 2000s on Alexa, dancing and singing along, that I’ve still got it.

Trees

I’ve always felt a sense of awe and wonder with trees, particularly oaks. I am very privileged to live in Richmond in London where there is no shortage of trees. There is a woodland close to my house and it has been my saviour this past year. Kew Gardens had a wonderful exhibition in 2019 of ancient oaks sketched by Mark Frith. His work gave me a newfound appreciation for bare trees. Inspired by his drawings, I began to sketch trees around my neighbourhood during the winter lockdown. It brought a lot of satisfaction to my days at a time when things seemed especially gloomy.

Coincidences

Coincidences are life affirming. When you’re thinking about someone you haven’t spoken to in months, and they show up later that day in your life— it’s pretty incredible. People call that coincidence, but I think of such moments as the universe communicating with me. Saying, “Hello, there’s more going on than what meets the eye”. It is my absolute favourite thing because the world feels less frightening and more personal, as if it were designed just for you.