D
escribed as “one of the finest writers of her generation” and “femme daddy of your dreams” (I fully agree with both), Randa Jarrar is an incredible talent. 2021 might have been with us mere moments, but I’m calling it – her new memoir, Love Is An Ex-Country, is my favourite book of the year. A blisteringly queer take on the classic American roadtrip, it is joyful, provocative and essential reading. But more on that in a minute. I’ve got more pressing matters I need to talk to Randa about first: her recent TikTok about lesbian movies, where she recalls jerking off to the 1996 movie Bound. “Oh my god, Bound,” sighs the 43-year-old from her home in LA. “I would watch it constantly with this girl I was madly in love with at the time, who wouldn’t date me. Now that I think about it, that was sexual. Jerking off with someone? That was sexual.”