Lisa Mcbroom
asked
Chris Bohjalian:
Recently I finished your book The Sleepwalker. You drew me in with a quote from Sylvia Plath my favorite poet. The question I have is you deal with sleepwalking in such a personal way... do you sleepwalk or is there a history of sleepwalking in your family?
Chris Bohjalian
Yes, there is some sleepwalking history among us. But it is not severe and it was not the inspiration for the novel.
The novel had its origins when I was having lunch with a sleep physician. I wanted to understand what the brain is doing when we dream: delta waves, etc. He had just come from a patient who was a sleepwalker, however, and our conversation rather naturally went there. And I grew hooked. I knew I wanted to write about sleepwalking instead.
Now, I have a feeling that the moment when Annalee walks to the bridge had its origins in my subconscious -- and a memory of a specific sleepwalking experience I witnessed.
So, family history does enter in.
All my books have autobiographic minutiae like that. One other autobiographic tidbit in "The Sleepwalker?" I was a teenage magician like Lianna.
Thanks for asking, Lisa!
The novel had its origins when I was having lunch with a sleep physician. I wanted to understand what the brain is doing when we dream: delta waves, etc. He had just come from a patient who was a sleepwalker, however, and our conversation rather naturally went there. And I grew hooked. I knew I wanted to write about sleepwalking instead.
Now, I have a feeling that the moment when Annalee walks to the bridge had its origins in my subconscious -- and a memory of a specific sleepwalking experience I witnessed.
So, family history does enter in.
All my books have autobiographic minutiae like that. One other autobiographic tidbit in "The Sleepwalker?" I was a teenage magician like Lianna.
Thanks for asking, Lisa!
More Answered Questions
Linda
asked
Chris Bohjalian:
Why didn't we ask our grandparents before it was too late? My grandparents who escaped the death march never talked about it. The horrors were too vivid. Years after my grandfather died, I found out that he & all the villagers were locked in a church and the Turks burned it down. He was the only one who escaped. My Grandmother had 1 family portrait, how did she keep that on the death march? Why didn't we ask?
Linda
asked
Chris Bohjalian:
As the unofficial "Mayor" of Booktopia, I have an invitation. I do not know when you will be getting to Manchester but, a big group of us (about 20) eat dinner on Thursday (April 25) at Thai Basil which is about a block from the bookstore. You would be welcome to join us. I usually make a reservation a few days before we arrive. I'll post on the FB page for reservations. Would you like to join us? Linda
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