Questions About Smash All the Windows

by Jane Davis (Goodreads Author)

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Answered Questions (11)

How do you want readers to feel when they get to the end?

Jane Davis I hope that they’ll have come to think of the characters as friends. I hope they’ll occasionally catch themselves wondering, what did Maggie do? What’…moreI hope that they’ll have come to think of the characters as friends. I hope they’ll occasionally catch themselves wondering, what did Maggie do? What’s Jules up to? How's Eric doing and will/can he go back to formal law? Where’s Gina moved to and what’s she doing? And I hope they remember to hug their loved ones. (less)

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Have you compared the book to any other writers or novels you’ve read? What’s the same? What’s different?

Jane Davis I hope it will be enjoyed by readers of How to be Both by Ali Smith and How to Paint a Dead Man by Sarah Hall. Both have so much to say on fragile, pr…moreI hope it will be enjoyed by readers of How to be Both by Ali Smith and How to Paint a Dead Man by Sarah Hall. Both have so much to say on fragile, precious and unpredictable life is. Both focus on what it means to be human and our innate connection with art – although neither is likely to put you off escalators. (less)

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Where else did your research take you?

Jane Davis Apart from the incidents themselves, I researched the rapidly-changing demography of London, transport policy, accident investigation, crowd theory, c…moreApart from the incidents themselves, I researched the rapidly-changing demography of London, transport policy, accident investigation, crowd theory, crush injuries, obituaries, working on the Underground, the layout of Underground stations, working as a tour guide, working as a set designer for the stage, ghost stories, medical information. Art features quite heavily in the novel. Sculpture, modern art, and heaven and hell depicted in art. At Tate Modern, I specifically sought out works of art where what was written on the wall label dramatically changed the way I thought about it.

So many tiny details go into the making of a book. The rule of thumb is that research shouldn’t show up on the page, but Smash all the Windows is the exception. Eric’s hard-won logical deductions needed to be shown. Mapping out the chain reaction that led to the disaster became Eric’s obsession and he paid the price with his health. Because I only had to show snap shots, thankfully my walls weren’t covered in his crazy line-up of Post-it notes. I didn’t suffer the same headaches, the stressful late nights fuelled by copious amounts of caffeine.
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Where did you set your book?

Jane Davis All of the action takes place within a couple of square miles in London. My London Underground stations are imagined, but based on knowledge. My chara…moreAll of the action takes place within a couple of square miles in London. My London Underground stations are imagined, but based on knowledge. My character Maggie’s walk is also very familiar. It’s a route I often take when I work in the City, but I had a very enjoyable day when I walked in her footsteps, stopping off at the garden-ruin of St Duncan’s in the East, the church of St Magnus, and walking across London Bridge, through Borough market and to Tate Modern, where the art exhibition that sits at the climax of the novel is staged.(less)

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Can you tell us a little about the characters?

Jane Davis Firstly, despite their flaws – and they do have flaws – I think they’re all heroic, given that each of them gets up day after day and faces the world,…moreFirstly, despite their flaws – and they do have flaws – I think they’re all heroic, given that each of them gets up day after day and faces the world, despite everything they’ve lost.

Gina Wicker didn’t only lose a son. She lost her idea of who he was – of who she herself was. She was not, as she’d imagined, a good mother, and this knowledge led to a downward spiral of self-destruction. Is it any wonder that her daughter Tamsin is increasingly distant?

Tamsin finds herself at a crossroads. Almost twenty-seven years old, she’s still living at home with her alcoholic mother. But how long will boyfriend Graham wait? And having lost so much of her teenage years, isn’t she entitled to a life of her own?

Then we have a married couple, Maggie and Alan Chappel. They’re not from London. When Alan decides that the best chance he has of healing his hidden wounds is by returning to his Northumberland hometown, Maggie comes under mounting pressure to explain her reluctance to go along with his plans.

My beta readers’ clear favourite was Donovan. Two generations of his family were wiped out in an instant. Not only his daughter and future son-in-law, but his unborn grandson. He has another less obvious source of pain, one he can’t discuss. Ever since the funeral, his wife Helene has turned her back on the world, refusing to leave the house. But surely, if he can raise money to build a monument, she might be persuaded…

Then we have Jules Roche, a French sculptor. He was the unwitting poster boy for the disaster, has reluctantly found fame with the sculptures he created from his outpouring of anger and sorrow. Now, in celebration of the verdict, Tate Modern wants to stage an exhibition of his work. Jules accepts - but on his terms. And art created from anger holds the power to shock.

When most injustices are overturned, there’s usually an individual in the background who realised that an injustice had been done and then worked tirelessly behind the scenes in order to construct a case. With St Botolph and Old Billingsgate, it was Eric, a law student who is still some way from qualifying as a solicitor. The outsider in the story, his arrival proves to be a turning point for families, who have all but given up in their search for justice. In the midst of all of the heartbreak and human reaction, the unseen suffering, his conviction reminds the families that they still have a little fight in them.
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