Bianca
asked
Julia Glass:
I reread 'Three Junes' every year, and I adore Malachy Burns which is why I was so excited to see his reappearance in 'And the Dark Sacred Night'. I've read in an interview, though, that you thought you could have written 'Three Junes' better - I'm curious to know what you would've changed or improved on. Would Malachy have survived those rewrites unchanged?
Julia Glass
This answer contains spoilers…
(view spoiler)[One of the greatest compliments to any writer is hearing that your book is worthy of REreading. And several times? Thank you, Bianca. I am honored! As for that interview, I'm a little surprised. Granted, I've done a lot of interviews over the past decade, and I can't remember them all, but from my current vantagepoint, I honestly can't imagine how I could improve that novel. In fact, I'm still amazed that the way I structured it--which I did by the seat of my very inexperienced pants--worked so well and that the characters' stories moved so many people. In retrospect, I also have to marvel at my unwitting bravery at writing about a deeply painful moment in modern history (the "plague years" in New York) that has been so politicized. But I did live through it, doing volunteer work in the AIDS community and seeing so many young men die. I suppose that I simply couldn't NOT write about it. When I created Mal, I assumed that readers would find him amusing and fascinating but not too likable--I didn't want to kill off an angel--but as I lived with him, month after month, especially through Fenno's eyes, I began to see him as more than admirable in his uncompromising attitude toward life. I actually wept as I wrote his death scene--and again when I wrote the scene in which Fenno realizes, too late, how very much he loved Mal. So would I change Mal if I were to go back and rewrite that novel? Absolutely not. (hide spoiler)]
More Answered Questions
Julia Glass
778 followers
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more