Celebrated author Jennifer Egan has been writing compelling fiction for years; her works appearing in the New Yorker, the New York Times and other outlets, and her celebrated novels garnering considerable critical and public acclaim. Her first novel, 1995’s The Invisible Circus, features a young American woman who travels to Europe to trace the footsteps of her dead sister, who had impulsively joined up with the Baader-Meinhof Gang and later the June 2nd Movement.

Made into a major motion picture starting Jordana Brewster and Cameron Diaz, the Invisible Circus is a deeply affecting work. Though it’s only one of many themes in the book, It’s explanation of the motivations of the older sister is as great of a primer for understanding how and why so many young Germans came to become members of the Baader-Meinhof Gang as you’ll likely ever read.

In this interview I explore with Jennifer Egan how she came to write about the Baader-Meinhof Gang, and the emotional territory generated by the excitement and regret of the radical decisions of youth.

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