Two of a Kind
Page 37
A. Perhaps because I myself have made such a marriage, I am drawn to the subject of how Jews and Christians mix and mingle. Orthodox Jews keep to themselves and tend to avoid serious interaction with non-Jews, but many Jews who are not Orthodox assimilate, and as they do, they come into contact with the non-Jewish population. How do Jews retain their identity as Jews when they are part of the larger world? What are the joys and perils of such relationships? I am attempting to work out the answers to these questions through the vehicle of my fiction.
Q. You have chosen to tell this novel from five different points of view; can you say more about that authorial choice?
A. I love novels that are told from shifting or multiple points of view and I often use this device in my fiction. I’m interested in how each person’s perspective informs and enhances the story. Everyone has his or her own truth to champion and the multiple-point-of-view approach allows all these truths—for there are many—to have their say.
Q. Do you have difficulty writing from a male point of view?
A. Not at all! I enjoy trying to imagine “the other” and welcome the chance to slip into a consciousness that is not my own but somehow is not alien to me.
Q. You have written fiction, nonfiction, and books for children; how do you see the relationship among these different aspects of your writing life?
A. Since I usually have more than a single project going at any one time, moving back and forth between them gives me a freedom and flexibility I appreciate. If I’m stuck with a novel, I turn to a children’s book or an essay, and if I’m able to make progress in one of those areas, then I find I can return to the novel more easily, as if I’ve somehow unlocked something in the process of turning my attention elsewhere.
Q. How do you structure your writing day?
A. It varies from project to project. I have no set hours, but I try to write every day. Recently I have begun staying up later and later; I can be quite productive in the quiet, wee hours of the morning. The only trouble is not sleeping late enough in the day to compensate.
Q. Some writers pine for the seclusion of writers’ colonies and retreats; others need a designated outside writing space that they pay for or opt for a spot at the local coffee bar. Where do you tend to write?
A. I never want to leave my house to write. I have a tiny but cheery little room overlooking my tiny (though not so cheery!) yard. And I am very attached to my stuff: my pillow, my chair, my favorite mug. I don’t want to write anywhere else.
Q. Do you think that the advent of the electronic age will spell the end of novels as we have come to know them?
A. No! I think people have always craved narratives (what is the Bible but a series of narratives that include love, war, incest, adultery, and the like?) and will continue to crave them. The delivery system for those narratives may change and more people will be reading on electronic devices. But I’m convinced that the appetite for narrative is hardwired: narratives or stories are how we make sense out of the randomness that comprises our lives; narratives show us how to find and create meaning from our experience.
Q. What are you working on now?
A. I’ve got two ideas for novels—one set in the present, the other in 1947. I don’t want to say too much about either one of them now except that I’m aching to get back to both of them.
CONVERSATION GUIDE
QUESTIONS
FOR DISCUSSION
1. What are your first impressions of the two main characters, Christina Connelly and Andy Stern? Are they positive or negative?
2. Did those initial impressions change over the course of the novel, and if so, how does that happen?
3. How does the old adage “Opposites attract” play out here?
4. Do you feel that the differences in these two characters can be successfully overcome and that their marriage will stand the test of time?
5. What role does Andy’s mother play? Do you feel Ida is a sympathetic character?
6. How do Jordan and Oliver affect the relationship of their parents? Do you think they will be able to blend successfully and become a family?
7. Oliver accepts Christina much more easily than Jordan does Andy. Do you think that has more to do with who Andy is or who Jordan is?
8. Both Christina and Andy were happily married prior to the novel’s opening. What effect do those prior relationships have on the one they are trying to build?
9. What significance does Christina’s house play in the novel? How did you feel about what happens to it?
10. Christina is a believer in the poetry of objects. Are there particular objects that elicit this kind of response in you?