by Adam McOmber
The names of the characters and places in the book are so distinctive. How did you come up with them?
For me, a character’s name should act as a kind of invocation. I worked for a long time to get the names right in the The White Forest, speaking them aloud and listening to them. There were times when I started only with a sound, and I worked until I found a name that matched the sound. My hope is that the reader gets a feeling of the character from the name alone.
What do you hope a reader will take away from The White Forest? What kind of experience do you look for when you read?
My hope for readers of The White Forest is that they will feel drawn into the book by both the story and the characters. I want Jane and the others to come alive for a while in the reader’s imagination and to take him or her on an adventure. As a reader myself, I’m interested in books that have characters who feel like real people. I’m particularly interested when these realistic characters have strange and fantastic experiences that I myself could not have. The best sort of literature for me is the sort that creates ecstatic moments—moments when a reader feels that the everyday world has been torn away. I want to feel that a book has connected me to something larger than myself—something mythic.
When you are writing fiction, with what germ of an idea do you begin? A story element, a character, a setting?
This varies from story to story, but for The White Forest, the character of Jane definitely came first. I saw her clearly, walking across the overgrown Heath beneath a gray sky. I knew that she was lonely and dangerous. She didn’t belong on the Heath. In fact, she didn’t belong anywhere in our world. There was a kind of desperation in her. And I wanted to write about that.
Do you think of your fiction as literary gothic, supernatural, or something else? How do you, as a modern writer, approach these genres? How do you keep them feeling fresh and contemporary?
I am attempting to blend a wide variety of genres and literary tropes that I personally enjoy. At the same time, it’s important to me that my stories do not rely on generic cliché or formula. As I write, I am always asking myself if the scene or image feels fresh. If so, I know I’m going in the right direction.
If you could tap into the emotions of one specific object, what would it be? Why?
I’m not sure I can privilege any one object over another. I love the thought of being able to look through the objects—to look beyond the surface of the everyday world and see what’s behind the curtain. In a sense, I think using one’s imagination provides a similar feeling. Looking at a blank sheet of paper can have the same effect of looking into another world.
What do you like to read? If you were to suggest a book to a reader to read after finishing The White Forest, what would it be?
I love to read great imaginative fiction—works that reach beyond our everyday lives. I would encourage anyone who enjoyed The White Forest to read Isaac Dinesen’s Seven Gothic Tales. For me, these tales are near perfect. They are at once lushly Romantic and strange.
What are you working on now?
I’m working on a new novel that, like The White Forest, makes use of an imagined reality. It’s too early to say much about the story itself, but I’m really enjoying my exploration of this new set of characters and the mystery of the world that they enter.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
The Crystal Palace was originally erected in Hyde Park as part of London’s Great Exhibition. Subsequently, the structure was moved to Sydenham Hill. For the purposes of this novel, I have retained the Hyde Park location.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
My gratitude to Sally Kim, whose thoughtful editing helped bring this book to life, and to my agent, Eleanor Jackson, who believed in me and provided invaluable guidance at every turn. I’d also like to thank the entire team at Touchstone who worked tirelessly on this book. For thoughts on the manuscript and general encouragement, I’d like to thank Brian Leung, Scott Blindauer, David Lazar, Colin Meldrum, Ryan Hamlin, Garnett Kilberg Cohen, Jennie Fauls, Gabriel Blackwell, Chrissy Kolaya, Christine Sneed, and Cora Jacobs. Thank you to my family for all their love and support, especially to my mother, Denise, and my father, Michael. And finally, thank you to Chris Breier for listening, commenting, and providing affection.
© RYAN BAKERINK
Adam McOmber teaches creative writing at Columbia College Chicago and is the associate editor of the literary magazine Hotel Amerika. Stories from his collection This New & Poisonous Air have been nominated for two 2012 Pushcart Prizes. Visit his website at www.AdamMcOmber.com.
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COPYRIGHT © 2012 SIMON & SCHUSTER
Also by Adam McOmber
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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2012 by Adam McOmber
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information, address Touchstone Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.
First Touchstone hardcover edition September 2012
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Designed by Akasha Archer
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
McOmber, Adam.
The white forest / Adam McOmber.
p. cm.
1. Upper class—England—Fiction. 2. Children of the rich—Fiction. 3. Triangles
(Interpersonal relations)—Fiction. 4. Cults—Fiction. 5. Murder—Fiction. I. Title.
PS3613.C58645W45 2012
813’.6—dc23
2011048720
ISBN 978-1-4516-6425-6
ISBN 978-1-4516-6427-0 (ebook)