Tuesday, March 07, 2006
Dream Of The Blue Room: Books: Michelle Richmond
I have the pleasure of blogging Michelle Richmond's Dream of the Blue Room ... and Michelle agreed to answer some questions for me so that you folks could know a bit more about her and the book:
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR TYPICAL "WRITING DAY"?
--Before I had my son 14 months ago, I wrote on the days I wasn't teaching, so I had two or three days a week to write. I'd begin around 7:30 when my husband left for work, and keep going for several hours, then spend the rest of the day doing class prep, reading student stories, etc. Since my son came along, I have no typical writing day! On many nights, following a 2 a.m. feeding, I've sat down at the computer for an hour or so until his next waking. Occasionally he'll take a nap, and if I don't have class prep to do, I use that time to write.
DO YOU RECALL THE KERNEL OF INSPIRATION FOR THIS BOOK?
Yes, I was working and traveling in China, and I became interested in the Three Gorges Dam, which was under construction at the time and promised to big the biggest and most ill-advised dam in the world. On a river cruise in China, I met an Australian gentleman who was living in Beijing, and he was the inspiration for the character of Graham, whom our narrator meets on a cruise up the Yangtze and whom she becomes involved with.
PICK A CHARACTER IN THE BOOK AND TELL US WHAT TRAIT YOU SHARE (OR COME CLOSEST TO SHARING) WITH THAT CHARACTER.
Jenny, the narrator. Like her, I was in my early thirties when I was writing the book. Like her, I grew up in Alabama and was transplanted to New York City (although I now live in San Francisco). Unlike Jenny, I have the good fortune to be involved in a happy marriage. Jenny is driven in part by--well, let's face it--lust. Lust is something I can relate to--temptation. I think I'm better at resisting it than Jenny is, though.
IF YOU WERE STUCK ON A DESERT ISLAND, WOULD YOU RATHER HAVE A MAGICAL TRUNK THAT GAVE YOU LIMITLESS BOOKS TO READ, OR A LIMITLESS SUPPLY OF PAPER ON WHICH TO WRITE?
Oh, wow, what a fabulous question! I'd definitely go with the limitless books, though. A desserted island would be lonely, and living with characters of my own creation wouldn't necessarily ease the loneliness. Books, though, an endless variety of books, would be a way of feeling not quite so isolated.
BEER OR WINE?
Depends on the food. I grew up on the Gulf Coast, and nothing goes better with a beachside lobster broil or crawfish boil on a hot night than an ice cold beer. On a cold night in San Francisco, with steak (rare), I love a good cabernet or pinot.
CHOCOLATE OR VANILLA?
Chocolate, no question.
WHAT'S YOUR ALL-TIME FAVORITE BOOK?
The Moviegoer, by Walker Percy.
And now...a bit more about the book ...
On a warm night in July, 32-year-old Jenny finds herself sitting on the deck of a Chinese cruise ship next to a charming but secretive stranger. In Jenny's lap is a tin containing the ashes of her best friend, Amanda Ruth, mysteriously murdered fourteen years earlier in a small Alabama town.
In this foreign landscape, filled with ancient cities that will soon be inundated by the rising waters of the Yangtze River, Jenny must confront her haunted past and decide the direction of her future. As the ship moves slowly upriver, from one abandoned village to another, Jenny journeys deeper into her own guilt and eroticism.
Dream of the Blue Room explores the nature of friendship and the intimacy that exists between young girls as they struggle toward adulthood. Set alternately against the impressive landscape of the Yangtze and in a small river town in Alabama, this stunning novel reflects on the human desire to control and tame what is ultimately untamable.
Praise for Dream of the Blue Room:
"A dreamy, haunting work with a deeply personal feel. Any time a work of fiction raises our sights to higher truths, as this one does, the writer has done her job." Florida Sun-Sentinel
"Some childhood relationships are so fulfilling they shape our lives and leave us wondering why they didn't last longer. Richmond captures, explores, and intertwines these bonds so elegantly, you might even think the relationships are your own." USA Today
"With the slow build-up of a mystery, the exquisite pain of a coming-of-age novel, the masterful images of a travel writer, and a darkness that is true to the Southern Gothic, Dream of a Blue Room is a work of wonderfully chimeric form. " Joanna Pearson, Small Spiral Notebook
"Intelligent, original, complex." The San Francisco Chronicle
"A complex and nimbly fashioned first novel." Kirkus Reviews
Be sure to check it out!!
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR TYPICAL "WRITING DAY"?
--Before I had my son 14 months ago, I wrote on the days I wasn't teaching, so I had two or three days a week to write. I'd begin around 7:30 when my husband left for work, and keep going for several hours, then spend the rest of the day doing class prep, reading student stories, etc. Since my son came along, I have no typical writing day! On many nights, following a 2 a.m. feeding, I've sat down at the computer for an hour or so until his next waking. Occasionally he'll take a nap, and if I don't have class prep to do, I use that time to write.
DO YOU RECALL THE KERNEL OF INSPIRATION FOR THIS BOOK?
Yes, I was working and traveling in China, and I became interested in the Three Gorges Dam, which was under construction at the time and promised to big the biggest and most ill-advised dam in the world. On a river cruise in China, I met an Australian gentleman who was living in Beijing, and he was the inspiration for the character of Graham, whom our narrator meets on a cruise up the Yangtze and whom she becomes involved with.
PICK A CHARACTER IN THE BOOK AND TELL US WHAT TRAIT YOU SHARE (OR COME CLOSEST TO SHARING) WITH THAT CHARACTER.
Jenny, the narrator. Like her, I was in my early thirties when I was writing the book. Like her, I grew up in Alabama and was transplanted to New York City (although I now live in San Francisco). Unlike Jenny, I have the good fortune to be involved in a happy marriage. Jenny is driven in part by--well, let's face it--lust. Lust is something I can relate to--temptation. I think I'm better at resisting it than Jenny is, though.
IF YOU WERE STUCK ON A DESERT ISLAND, WOULD YOU RATHER HAVE A MAGICAL TRUNK THAT GAVE YOU LIMITLESS BOOKS TO READ, OR A LIMITLESS SUPPLY OF PAPER ON WHICH TO WRITE?
Oh, wow, what a fabulous question! I'd definitely go with the limitless books, though. A desserted island would be lonely, and living with characters of my own creation wouldn't necessarily ease the loneliness. Books, though, an endless variety of books, would be a way of feeling not quite so isolated.
BEER OR WINE?
Depends on the food. I grew up on the Gulf Coast, and nothing goes better with a beachside lobster broil or crawfish boil on a hot night than an ice cold beer. On a cold night in San Francisco, with steak (rare), I love a good cabernet or pinot.
CHOCOLATE OR VANILLA?
Chocolate, no question.
WHAT'S YOUR ALL-TIME FAVORITE BOOK?
The Moviegoer, by Walker Percy.
And now...a bit more about the book ...
On a warm night in July, 32-year-old Jenny finds herself sitting on the deck of a Chinese cruise ship next to a charming but secretive stranger. In Jenny's lap is a tin containing the ashes of her best friend, Amanda Ruth, mysteriously murdered fourteen years earlier in a small Alabama town.
In this foreign landscape, filled with ancient cities that will soon be inundated by the rising waters of the Yangtze River, Jenny must confront her haunted past and decide the direction of her future. As the ship moves slowly upriver, from one abandoned village to another, Jenny journeys deeper into her own guilt and eroticism.
Dream of the Blue Room explores the nature of friendship and the intimacy that exists between young girls as they struggle toward adulthood. Set alternately against the impressive landscape of the Yangtze and in a small river town in Alabama, this stunning novel reflects on the human desire to control and tame what is ultimately untamable.
Praise for Dream of the Blue Room:
"A dreamy, haunting work with a deeply personal feel. Any time a work of fiction raises our sights to higher truths, as this one does, the writer has done her job." Florida Sun-Sentinel
"Some childhood relationships are so fulfilling they shape our lives and leave us wondering why they didn't last longer. Richmond captures, explores, and intertwines these bonds so elegantly, you might even think the relationships are your own." USA Today
"With the slow build-up of a mystery, the exquisite pain of a coming-of-age novel, the masterful images of a travel writer, and a darkness that is true to the Southern Gothic, Dream of a Blue Room is a work of wonderfully chimeric form. " Joanna Pearson, Small Spiral Notebook
"Intelligent, original, complex." The San Francisco Chronicle
"A complex and nimbly fashioned first novel." Kirkus Reviews
Be sure to check it out!!
Comments:
Thank you!
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