Sadee Bee

Sadee Bee asked Janet Fitch:

I have read White Oleander many, many times. My copy is so marked up that I may need to buy a new one. What gave you the idea for such a wonderful story?

Janet Fitch Stories are like rivers--they begin in many places. There's a trickle over here that's then joined up with that trickle, and another, and then you have a creek. More join and you have a stream, and finally a big river. The original story was just a trickle. A two page short-short story set on a rooftop in the wind during the Santa Anas. Just an image of a woman's white hair in the wind, and the white moon, and the white oleanders blooming.

More Answered Questions

Carolyn

Carolyn asked Janet Fitch:

I am an avid reader (and former English major) who gets highly annoyed with books that sound great when you read the description, but end up being too similar (to a hundred others) and/or are poorly written. Your novels are a breath of fresh air! I love your writing style and wanted to know if and when you would have another novel coming out? Thanks!

Vladimir

Vladimir asked Janet Fitch:

Dear Mrs. Fitch, Kurt Vonnegut wrote somewhere: "Everything one has to know about life is written in The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoyevsky". Do you agree with this point of view? Thanks.

A Goodreads user

A Goodreads user asked Janet Fitch:

Hello! White Oleander was a life changing book. Starr completely fascinates me. I feel like her heart was in the right place, but the core of her soul was so broken and muddled, she couldn't realise how much she was hurting others. Why did she ultimately pick Ray over her children? How do you feel a confruntation between her and Ingrid would look like? Also, do you think Ed was in depression?

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