We now know, from other memoirs and original source material, that the writer’s relationship with Finch Hatton was one of the seminal moments of her life it’s almost as if her deliberate parity of description was meant to keep the private private to suggest that ordinary words simply could not convey the depth and parameters of this relationship, thus the writer was not even going to make the attempt to do so. The more personal the story she tells, the more she strips down the language - and the barest bones are used to tell of her relationship with Denys Finch Hatton. My gold standard for book-to-film translation is “Out of Africa.” In that memoir, Isak Dinesen - whose Gothic fairy tales are lush and elaborately written - dramatically alters her style to describe her life. I still don’t really understand why Hollywood continues to fix things that are not broken. What’s your favorite movie based on a book?Īs someone who’s written a book that was badly translated to film, I am very sensitive to this topic, and always on the lookout for movies that are faithful adaptations of stories I’ve loved.
With every book, she has startling, beautiful turns of phrase that take my breath away. Her work lies in the dreamy world where love collides with magical realism, reminding me of Gabriel García Márquez. My favorite contemporary novelist is Alice Hoffman. It’s one thing to craft a reputation as a novelist for the words one uses - it’s a whole new playing level to be revered for what you don’t say, but manage to convey anyway. Here’s a piece about abortion that never actually mentions the phrase, and in fact the omission (and its reason for never being uttered) is the most critical element in the story. It wasn’t until I read the short story “Hills Like White Elephants” that I was appropriately blown away. I had been assigned some of the Nick Adams stories for the Princeton syllabus, and I must admit: I didn’t understand the wow factor at first. I remember discovering Hemingway when I was in college. Who is your favorite novelist of all time? And your favorite novelist writing today? Also stacked are the books I have recently read and loved: Luanne Rice’s “The Lemon Orchard” Chris Bohjalian’s “Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands” John Searles’s “Help for the Haunted” Jo-Ann Mapson’s “Owen’s Daughter.” In related news, I can no longer find my alarm clock when the buzzer goes off. “We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves,” by Karen Joy Fowler “One Plus One,” by Jojo Moyes “The Rosie Project,” by Graeme Simsion.
What books are currently on your night stand?
“You need genealogy charts to just figure out the characters, every novel is a thousand pages and pretty much everyone dies.” The author, most recently, of “Leaving Time” hates Russian lit.
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