Because all my prior novels did weave in a historical theme, I again wanted to create a backstory of a part of history that I felt needed to be explored more in contemporary literature. When my son was an infant, his first babysitter was a former nurse from Ukraine who shared with me her stories of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear plant near her hometown. I would never forget her describing how, for three days, no one knew about the accident, so they were all outside sunning themselves in the unseasonably hot weather and bathing in the unusually warm waters of the local river. Babies were soon born with rare cancers and heart defects akin to what my character Yuri had. Countless health problems related to the radiation leak still plague the Ukrainian population. I wanted to illuminate this trauma in my novel, and fusing these two stories of the letter and of Chernobyl was the perfect way for me to accomplish exploring the themes that were important to me.
You’ve always done a lot of research for your historical novels. Did you need to do the same amount for this novel? How was it different from and similar to the research you’ve done for your other books?
Because much of the book takes place in Long Island, where I grew up, there was a lot more “local” research than in my previous novels, so I didn’t do as much traveling, which was actually very nice for me. I spent a lot of time interviewing teachers and listening to their stories about what had inspired them to become educators and the special bonds they had created with their students over the years. I also learned about how they themselves had transformed over the years, both as educators and as people, through the relationships they’d shared with their students.
Did you have a particular teacher who inspired you? Maggie feels a calling to be a teacher. Have you always felt a calling to be a writer?
My sixth-grade English teacher, Mr. Swink, was definitely the first teacher who treated me as though he knew I’d be an author one day. I will never forget him, and it’s one of my deepest regrets that he died at such a young age and didn’t learn that my lifelong friend and fellow classmate Jardine Libaire and I both became writers.
I think I always wanted to paint and write. So many of my early professional dreams were to be a children’s book author and to illustrate my own stories. Years later, when I found myself majoring in art history in college, I realized that I loved writing stories about artists and exploring the psychological, historical, and cultural questions that art can inspire.
Are their certain characters based on real people? Who?
The character of Maggie’s mother was inspired by the mother of my friend who shared her story about the lost letter with me. Her mother, Josephine, is the kindest, sweetest woman and an amazing Italian cook. She always has something cooking on her stove and is always gifting a lasagna, a tray of cookies, or something warm to the people she loves or neighbors in need of some comfort. I’ve included her famous lasagna recipe at the end of the book for those book clubs or readers who want to re-create some of her cooking.
Did you know a lot about baseball before you wrote the novel?
Before I had my son, I knew absolutely nothing about baseball. But ever since he was five years old, he has been a huge fan of the sport, and he also plays both on his school team and in a travel league. Like Yuri, my son gravitated toward the game not only because he enjoyed playing it but also because of the complex mental strategies behind it. When writing The Secret of Clouds, I interviewed women and men of all ages on why they loved baseball. It was really interesting for me to learn what made this sport so special to them, as it inspires such devotion and passion—and a wonderful sense of nostalgia—in its fans. But it can be a very long game, and I used to complain to my son that, when one of his doubleheaders took five or six hours, I could have flown to Paris by the time his games had finished! But after researching the novel, I found I had a new respect for baseball.
I love that both Katya’s and Maggie’s fathers are artists. Why did you choose those specific professions for them?
That’s a great question. For those readers who are new to my work, this is a universal theme in all my novels. Because I grew up in an artistic home—with my mother being an abstract painter—I, too, dreamed of following in her footsteps. I’ve always channeled my love of exploring the creative process in my novels. In the past, I’ve written books about a mask carver, a painter, an actor, and a musician, but I had yet to write a novel about a violin maker or a ballet dancer. I love learning through my research, so it was wonderful to interview dancers who grew up during the Soviet regime and hear about their deep appreciation for how they utilized their artistic talents to try to overcome the bleakness of Communist life. The same was the case about learning about the craft of violin making. The baseball aspect of The Secret of Clouds came about because of my son’s love of the game, and the violin part came from my husband’s and daughter’s love. Both of them are violinists, and my daughter takes lessons at a beautiful store in my town where there is an in-house luthier in the back. It was such a treat for me to see the behind-the-scenes work that goes into making violins, and I wanted to find a way to thread that into my novel.
Topper Family Lasagna
FROM THE KITCHEN OF JOSEPHINE MACRI
One of the themes in The Secret of Clouds is how food is an expression of love. I’ve been lucky enough to be the recipient of the cooking of Ms. Josephine Macri, the woman who served as the inspiration for Maggie Topper’s mother in my novel, and her cooking always feels like a warm hug. I wanted to share one of her signature recipes with my readers because there is nothing more comforting than some good food to accompany a good book. And for all my book clubs that Skype with me, I know you’re often looking for dishes to accompany your discussions. So it’s my pleasure to gift you the recipe for this magical lasagna. Enjoy!
TOMATO SAUCE:
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
Olive oil
Parsley and basil, chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 (1-pound) packages ground beef, pork, and veal combo
1 pound Italian sausage meat (hot or sweet)
Salt and pepper
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
½ cup red wine
1 (28-ounce) can crushed San Marzano tomatoes
RICOTTA FILLING:
1 (2-pound) container whole-milk ricotta
1 pound-plus whole-milk mozzarella, shredded
Grated Pecorino Romano cheese
½ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
¼ cup chopped basil
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
1 large egg
BÉCHAMEL:
5 tablespoons butter
4 to 5 tablespoons flour
4 cups warm whole milk
¼ cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese
Nutmeg
Salt and pepper
Package of no-bake lasagna noodles (buy 2 packages in case you need extra)
TOMATO SAUCE:
Sauté the onion in a couple tablespoons olive oil until golden. Add the chopped basil and parsley. Add the finely chopped garlic. Add the meat, sausage meat, salt, and pepper. Cook, breaking up the meat, until it is no longer pink. Add the tomato paste and cook for a couple of minutes. Add the red wine. Let the alcohol cook out, and add the crushed tomatoes, along with about a can of water. Simmer for about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
RICOTTA FILLING:
Put the ricotta in a large bowl. Add about a third of the shredded mozzarella, ¼ cup of the Pecorino Romano cheese, the parsley, basil, salt, and pepper. Drizzle with the olive oil. Add the egg and stir until smooth.
BÉCHAMEL:
Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan. Add the flour, and stir until it has the consistency of wet sand. Slowly pour in warm milk. Stir until the sauce is thi
ck enough to coat the back of a spoon. Stir in the cheese, and sprinkle in a little nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste.
ASSEMBLY:
Lightly cover the bottom of the baking dish with the tomato sauce. Place the noodles over the sauce evenly, breaking if needed to fit the pan. Cover the noodles with the ricotta filling, pressing it evenly onto the noodles. Sprinkle more of the shredded mozzarella over the filling. Add another layer of tomato sauce, and top with more of the grated Pecorino Romano. Repeat, ending with noodles and sauce. Pour the béchamel over the top of the lasagna, cover the dish with foil, and bake at 350 degrees, until it is bubbling around the edges, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Remove the foil, and return the lasagna to the oven until the top turns slightly golden. Let the lasagna rest before cutting. Enjoy!
About the Author
Alyson Richman is the international bestselling author of The Velvet Hours, The Garden of Letters, The Lost Wife, The Last Van Gogh, The Rhythm of Memory, and The Mask Carver’s Son, and is featured in the anthology Grand Central. She lives in Long Island, New York, with her husband and two children.
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The Secret of Clouds Page 30