Eileen Goudge (Domestic Affairs, Woman in Red) > ... In this month's 1-On-One!

Is it possible to be a good writer without being a good reader?

I don’t think so.  The two are so closely intertwined that they seem to go in unison.  Certainly that’s the case with every writer I know.  Language is like food for the soul, whether it’s our own words or another author’s.

According to a report of the Independent Book Publishing Association, over five million American adults belong to reading groups. What, do you believe, is the basis for this country's love for literature and books?

This is grass roots at its best!  Every time you hear about the ‘death’ of the printed word or the bound book, another book club pops up.  Proof that where there is life, there will be readers.  Another reason I think book clubs are so popular is because it’s a wonderful forum for discussing concerns in one’s own life that mirror those in the chosen titles. 

Have you ever belonged to a reading group?

Only in spirit!  Occasionally, I participate via speakerphone when a book club is discussing one of my novels, which I’m always happy to do. 

What advice do you have for reading group members when it comes to selecting books for discussion?

Go outside your ‘comfort zone’ and try novels you might not have selected otherwise.  I read a lot for research purposes and, thus, have been introduced to works that I never would have read for pleasure but which turned out to be pleasurable indeed.  A good example was the World War II reading I did for Woman in Red, which included Herman Wouk’s Winds of War and War and Remembrance.  Another excellent one was Alistair Cooke’s The American Home Front, written while he was traveling through the US during WWII.  

What books are you reading now or do you plan to read?

I am taking the new Dave Sedaris book on vacation – I always enjoy him.  Also slated for summer reading is Summerland, by Michael Chabon, who I consider the ultimate wordsmith and a darn good storytelling besides.  Currently on my night stand is The Fruit Hunters, by Adam Gollner, a fascinating journey through the arcane world of exotic fruits and those who seek them out.

If you were stuck on a deserted island and could only bring one book with you to read, what would it be and why?

My favorite book of all time is the first “grownup” novel I ever read, and that is Jane Eyre. I discovered it when I was in the fourth grade and have read it several times since.  I used a quote from it in my latest novel Domestic Affairs.  

If you could have dinner with three writers (dead or alive) who would they be and why?

I would like to dine with Adam Gollner of the Fruit Hunters, for one, but only if he promises to bring a sack load of those exotic fruits he describes so ravishingly!

Stephen King would be my pick for a Halloween night in a deserted mansion.  We’d have to order takeout.  I’d be far too scared to leave the house!

A dead author who I’m sure I would have thoroughly an enjoyed an evening with is Charles Dickens.  Also, Charlotte Bronte.

Have you ever read anything you're too embarrassed to admit (except in this interview)?

Well, my secret pleasure as a kid was Nancy Drew.  I can’t believe the awful writing of some of those earlier Nancy Drew books today.  But I still love Nancy – she was my first feminist role model.

In my adult years, I’ve tried reading “trashy” novels, but while I’m no literary snob and believe people should read whatever they like, I find it hard to get past the sloppy writing in some.  I read with a mental red pencil on hand, which can be distracting.  

Favorite book when you were a child?

I was as passionate about the Wizard of Oz books as kids today are about Harry Potter.  But only the ones written by L. Frank Baum himself.  Ruth Plumley Thompson?  Wanted nothing to do with the Oz books she penned! 

If you have children, is this the same book you read to them? If not, what is your favorite book for your children?

I would have to say Winnie the Pooh.  It’s a book children of all ages, including this one, can enjoy either whether it’s read aloud to you or you’re the one doing the reading. 

Favorite heroine in literature and why?

I’m going to go with a lesser known heroine, in the hopes of sparking some interest in this novel, written by a distant relation of mine, Elizabeth Goudge.   The novel is Green Dolphin Street and the heroine is Marianne.  It’s the story of two sisters who both love the same man.  He only loves one of them, but when he emigrates to New Zealand, he writes a letter one night in a drunken state, proposing to the wrong sister.  It’s Marianne who arrives on the boat three months later, much to his dismay.  But over the years he comes to love her, for the same reasons the reader does: She’s not perfect and can be demanding and prickly at times, but she’s plucky, with a will of iron and a good heart at core.  I read this book as a teenager and instantly bonded with Marianne after the scene in which she pokes holes in her earlobes with a hatpin after her parents have forbidden her to pierce her ears.

Favorite hero in literature and why?

Oscar in Gunther Grass’s The Tin Drum made quite an impression on me when I read the book as a teenager.  I still recall vividly some of the scenes, including the one where he wills himself not to grow anymore.  I’d like to will myself not to grow any older!

Favorite first line from a book?

“All happy families resemble one another, but each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina ...

Favorite last line from a book?

“The moon.” From James M. Cain’s novel Double Indemnity. (Or was it “Postman Always Rings Twice”?)  Just those two words, but in the context of the novel they’ll send a shiver down your spine.

Book that changed your life?

I know this sounds corny but, being strictly honest, it would have to be Fun with Dick and Jane.  It was the very first book I ever read, in the first grade.  Not exactly a page-turner and pretty thin characters, but I can still recall the joy of realizing I could READ and that opened up a whole new world for me. 

Words to live by?

“Friends are like evergreens.  You know them when winter comes.”  An old Chinese proverb that is as relevant today as it was centuries ago.  I frequently remind myself of it and try to be an “evergreen” friend, who’s there in tough times as well as “happy hour.” The heroines of my novels reflect this sentiment as well; they are good friend through thick and thin.