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message 51:
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Betty
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Apr 04, 2013 07:15AM
Happy I have discovered your work. Wondering how you discovered the small college in Madison that has a very minor mention in Beautiful Ruins? Was there something in your own experience that played into that choice? Very curious, I think it may be my alma mater.
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What are some of your favorite books, and which authors have influenced you as a writer? Are there any recent books that you have really enjoyed?
Did you pick the title and then write of people and locales that were both beautiful and ruined or did you write the title after all the characters were formed?
Hi Jess!First, I wanted to thank you for your reading here at Wabash College; it was a phenomenal event. Since then, I have read several more of your books, including Beautiful Ruins.
On that topic, I wanted to ask, what techniques did you use to blend fact with fiction, and how much time writing the novel was spent doing research on the actors, the processes of film-making, and the vivid details of Italy? With this novel, I feel that you were able to blend fiction and creative nonfiction exceptionally well.
Thank you for all the wonderful books!
Jess, thank you for this wonderful journey of a book. My questions: Did Dee love Pasquel? Does Michael Deane have a moral compass in any way? It seems everyone in the book did the right thing in the end except him.
Hi Jess! What inspired your science-fiction-y short story *Don't Eat Cat*? It stands out from the others in We Live in Water - not so much in emotional range, but in setting/genre. Was it sort of an experiment? Would you write in that genre again? (I absolutely loved your collection, by the way.)
Did you intend the ending of Beautiful Ruins to be perceived as a happy ending by the reader?
The last chapter of Beautiful Ruins summarizes what happens to all of the characters. I almost didn't want to read it -- I didn't want the book to end and I thought a summary would be boring. But after I started, I just wept all the way through. I don't mean with sadness, either -- it was a kind of transcendent feeling -- like you had caught the essence of the life force in these characters. Did you intend this effect, or is it just me? If you intended it, how did you execute it -- I mean, where were you coming from when you wrote it? Did you have to put yourself in a certain place emotionally to be able to write something like that?
Thank you for hours and hours of reading pleasure. Have enjoyed so many of your books, but especially "The Financial Lives of the Poets".What music do you listen to? What are some of your favorite books of fiction? Any recommendations for really funny novels?
Laila wrote: "Hi Jess! What inspired your science-fiction-y short story *Don't Eat Cat*? It stands out from the others in We Live in Water - not so much in emotional range, but in setting/genre. Was it sort o..."Hi Jess, As Laila asked, what prompted you to write "Don't Eat Cat"? Also, are you planning on writing more short stories? Love the the collection in "We Live in Water". Thanks, Karana
In Beautiful Ruins, the character Michael Deane claims credit for creating our modern tabloid culture. There's a lot of humor derived from elements of that culture, like Drunk Midget House, but there is also a bit of what seems like cynicism and a little darkness. What, if anything, about today's culture genuinely disturbs you or do you find threatening to our intellectual or emotional health? Do you think that we are profoundly different from our parents and grandparents because of it? And, finally, do you have any Hookbook-style guilty pleasures or products of modern pop culture that you can't resist?
I absolutely LOVED Beautiful Ruins! I loved the setting at Porto Vergogna, was totally mesmerized by your description. So much that when I visited Italy last summer, I made a long side trip out to Portovenere from Lake Como. It was worth the drive! Did you do any writing out there in Cinque Terre? If so, where?I didn't want to book to end!
Hi Jess, I think the title "Beautiful Ruins" is perfect for your book. Did you always have that title in mind as you were writing or did it come along later?
Hey Jess,How did the Story make you feel personally? To me the story was great!! Are you planning on writing some more of your creative books?
Besides his legendary persona, was there something more specific that drew you to Richard Burton for the movie star. Was it his great passions, for literature, for women, for love? For his love for Elizabeth Taylor ,which was also a great story of a great love found and then lost? Thank you and I loved the book.
Jess: You told your Cambridge audience that you sometimes build a character by doing what actors do: putting on a hat. What hat did you put on for "Beautiful Ruins?"
Jess, Though many authors have penned books that were never done with intent to serve the Young Adult reader (Outsiders, To Kill a Mockingbird, Chocolate Wars) would you ever consider a book for the YA audience?
I fell in love with Beautiful Ruins on page 61 when Alvis Bender was discussing a writer's job with Pasquale . He talks about the truths and passions. Is this original or have you heard this? It was poetry...very visual, sensory, it even sounded wise. Thank you.
I loved how the ending of Beautiful Ruins seemed messy, not perfect, strings not quite all tied up and disposed of. It felt more real to me, like something that could actually happen in real life: just serendipitous enough to be meaningful, just unresolved/flawed to be real. I've also noticed this in some of your other work, particularly The Financial Lives of the Poets. How deliberate is this messiness? Is it something you think about while writing? Is it something you don't even realize/think is present? How do you feel it shapes the stories?
Mod
Has anyone been able to open the video???
I didn't have a problem getting into it, but here is the YouTube link in case that helps...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3avQ...
Tania wrote: "Hi Jess,Beautiful Ruins was a departure in many ways to your previous books. While I enjoyed it, I felt it lacked the cutting edge social satire that, for me, makes you so unique and distinct as ..."
I just watched/listened to the video & was sorry Jess did not address/answer Tania's question. I agree with this assessment of Beautiful Ruins and wondered if there will be a follow up to the discussion? Thanks. Jeanne
Just watched the video and thought it was great. I think the reason I couldn't open it was that I needed to use my PC rather than my iPhone to view it. Enjoy! This works too:http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=...#!
Worked fine on the pc. He seems very thoughtful. Too bad the chat wasn't longer
