After Olive Kitteridge and Lucy Barton, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author is back with a brand new protagonist in her 11th novel, ‘The Things We Never Say’. The chronicler of small-town despair, loved by Hilary Mantel and Zadie Smith, tells Jessie Thompson why her books are so full of loneliness (but she’s not lonely herself) Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture