Ann Patchett is one of the world's most acclaimed, prize-winning novelists and non-fiction writers.
She was named one of Time magazine's '100 Most Influential People in the World' and is a regular contributor to The New Yorker and Harper's Magazine.
She also co-owns indie bookstore Parnassus Books in Nashville with her husband.
Her collection of essays These Precious Days was chosen by Barack Obama as one of his books of the year in 2021.
Patchett is appearing at the Auckland Writer's Festival in May, where she'll be talking about her latest novel, Tom Lake.
Photo:
On Tom Lake as a ‘fairy story’:
“The whole fairy story thing has followed me throughout my career. When I got my first review in the New York Times for Patron Saint of Liars in 1992, the review said, ‘a fairy tale, a delight.’
“And I think that those words have followed me on every single book I have ever written since then. It doesn't seem like a fairy tale to me.
“But clearly, it's something that I do. And I think it is because I am very interested in plot. And I write stories with a strong beginning, middle and end. And also, stories that have a kind of a moral to them.
“And so, they wind up sort of aligning with fairy tales.”
On the influence of the play Our Town on Tom Lake:
“It is a beautiful, beautiful play.
“I have [read it every year] ever since I was a kid, and a lot of it is it reminds me of how I want to write, how I want to say things and in as clear and straightforward away as possible.
“But as I have gotten older, it just reminds me that we're going to die, which you would think I wouldn't need reminding of, but to pay attention to my life and the lives of the people around me.”
On why Tom Lake stands alone (but you should read Our Town anyway):
“A book that I love, that everyone in the world loved last year, was Demon Copperhead, Barbara Kingsolver’s book, and it follows David Copperfield action by action. It's really incredible what she did.
“And she kept saying you don't have to read David Copperfield, in order to understand Demon Copperhead, which is absolutely true.
“So, it is true that you don't have to know Our Town to read Tom Lake. But I think that reading Our Town, or watching it, you can pull it up on YouTube and watch it and it's an hour and a half, enhances the experience.
“Besides it's just a fabulous play. So, I like to say to people go ahead and do it anyway, because it'll make your life better.”
How Tom Lake shows how the things we want in life change:
“What we desperately want when we are young is not necessarily what we want when we're older. And so, I wanted to write a book about a happy marriage.
“And I wanted to write a book about two different kinds of love at two different times in life.
“When Laura is young, she is having a passionate affair with a crazy young actor named Peter Duke, who goes on to become a big movie star.
“And when she's older she has a beautiful, strong, family-oriented marriage with Joe, who she loves. And although her three daughters, who are in their 20s, cannot believe that she isn't filled with regret that she didn't spend her life with Peter Duke and become a movie star herself, she knows herself. And at this point in her life, she has exactly what she wants.”
On embracing the book tour:
“I kept saying that I'm done. And then the tour that I did for Tom Lake was the biggest book tour I've ever done. When These Precious Days came out during the pandemic, and the whole book tour was on Zoom sitting at my computer and I thought this is good, this is responsible, I'm going to stay home from here on out, I'm not going to do this anymore.
“And then I went out again and ended up having a great time. This it was really the first time I've ever had fun on book tour. But I really had fun on the book tour this last time. And it was long, it went on forever and ever.”
On books she’s currently recommending:
“I loved Alice McDermott's Absolution. That was probably my favourite book, that was my favorite book from last year. And this year Kaveh Akbar's book Martyr! is spectacular. And he's a poet, it's his first novel. It's absolutely incredible.
“And in a week or two, there is a book by Percival Everett coming out called James, which is a retelling of the story of Huckleberry Finn, from the point of view of Jim the slave.
And I think that that book is going to be life altering for so many people.”
On writing books that are “missing” from our lives:
“I realise that the book that's missing in my life is also the book that is missing in other people's lives, which is, people want a book that is smart, and literary and well-written, that is not going to destroy their soul.
“And there are so many extraordinarily brilliant novels that come out all the time, that will destroy your soul. They're so brutal, they're so hard to take. So, crushing, and they're wonderful and important and true, and I value them. But it's hard to find a book that you think, yes, this this counts as literature, this counts as a good important book, if it doesn't also destroy you.
“And so that becomes what I want to write, because it's also the book I want to find when I read, not every time at by any stretch, but every now and then I want something that speaks to how good people are.”
