Chapter 8 Interview with Judy Picourt

Q: The themes of your novels are incredibly meaningful and relevant to certain issues of social concern.Stem cell research and "designer babies" are topics of intense debate in the medical and political groups.Why did you choose such a subject to write about? Did writing this novel change your perspective on this issue? A: I came up with the theme of this novel by accident because of my last novel, Second Glance.When I was looking for eugenics for that novel, I learned about the American Eugenic Society -- whose funding dried up in the 1930s just as the Nazis were starting to explore eugenics -- which used to be at Cold Spring Harbor, New York.Guess what unit now occupies that place? The Human Genome Project... many would consider that to be "modern eugenics".It was a bizarre coincidence for me, and I began to think that this hot, cutting-edge medical technology that was about to break through was almost the same as the eugenic sterilization laws in the United States in the 1930s, although there were differences between the two. place.The same thing is that you have medical technology, and researchers and executives choose embryos according to the doctor's prescription; the same thing is that after such a great leap forward in medical technology, unsatisfactory embryos will be discarded according to the needs of individual cases.I heard from an American couple who had successfully conceived a baby with a bone marrow match to their sister, who was suffering from a rare form of leukemia.His cord blood was donated to his sister, who is still in remission years later.I can't help but question...what if her respite ended in a more pathetic situation? Would the boy feel he was responsible? Would he suspect that the only reason he was born was his sister's illness? As I tracked down more Investigating the dynamics of this family, and the possible implications of stem cell research, I deduce the story of the Fitzgeralds.I am personally in favor of stem cell research - it has too many advantages to be dismissed lightly.Obviously, though, it's a double-edged bond, and sometimes researchers and political candidates get so bogged down in the ethical nitty-gritty and scientific details that they completely forget that we're talking about having feelings, having emotions, having hope, and feeling deeply Terrified humans...like Ana and her family.I believe that in a few years we will all be forced to think about these questions, so why not put it in the novel first?

Q: You've done a great job portraying Jesse as the "angry young man" whose daring personality is so alive.Your writing seems to flow freely.Is that true, or is it difficult for you to write from a male point of view beyond gender? A: I have to tell you that writing Jesse has been the most fun I've had writing in years.Maybe I always wanted to be a seventeen-year-old youth who misbehaved in my heart.Whatever the reason, it's definitely fun to write about an angry character who's hurt inside, and to speak for him.For whatever reason, it's always been fun to pretend to be someone else—whether he's male, or thirteen, psychotic, self-destructive, or any of a dozen other first-person narrators I've created.Whenever I try to write about a male voice—like Jesse, Campbell, or Brian—it feels like slipping into a big coat.It's comfortable and easy to get used to wearing it...but if I'm not careful, the coat will slip off and reveal me underneath.

Q: On page one hundred and eighty-two, Jesse tells himself that when he recalled that he wanted to dig a tunnel to China, he said, "You know, darkness can give people illusions." What does this mean? Why do you Chosen to express it through Jesse because he is the darkest character in the novel? A: Exactly, so that sentence has to be said by Jesse.As far as Jesse was concerned, no matter how unfair he thought he was growing up, it was nothing compared to what his sister had suffered from illness.He knew full well that he couldn't win, so he didn't even try.When you're looking at Jesse, what you're seeing might be: a rotten kid.But I don't think so, you have to peel an onion... A person's true nature can be hidden several layers below the surface.The question is not whether Jesse is a bad boy or not, we should explore why he is like this, is he showing that he is the real him? Fragile.

Q: How do you choose the quotations at the beginning of each chapter? Milton, Shakespeare, D. H．Lawrence -- are they your favorite authors? Or did you pick them for another reason? A: I think I can say: I have read all the works of the masters, and those quoted verses jumped out of my memory when I needed them-but I don't want to lie like this.The truth is, the verses I quote at the beginning of each chapter are those I diligently sought out.I looked for lines that mentioned fire, flashes, stars—anything that might conjure up imagery of family, or symbolize itself burning away. Q: About sisterhood and brotherhood, which is the central idea of ​​this book.Why did you write Isa and Julia as twins? Does this arrangement want readers to think of Kate and Anna's codependent relationship? What relationship between the sisters do you hope to reveal through this story?

A: I think the relationship between sisters is different from the relationship between other siblings.It is a relationship that combines competition with great loyalty, and this is evident in both pairs of sisters in this book.Julia and Isa are twins because they start out as one embryo in the womb before they divide, and as they grow up, their differences become apparent.Kate and Anna, too, have the same genetic relationship, but unlike Isa and Julia, they are two easily identifiable people who cannot live without each other.I would like to give these two examples to the reader so that they can see the difference between two pairs of sisters, one who was first united and then separated; Entangled together, inseparable.

Q: Anyone who has watched a loved one die (anyone with a heart in their chest) will be moved by the detailed and realistic illness and death in this story.Is it going to be difficult to imagine that scenario? How do you go about brewing details that are so close to the truth? A: It's very difficult to imagine a family dealing with extreme grief, because you can't help but automatically imagine your own family going through that kind of hell.When researching this book, I spoke to children with cancer, and to their parents, who believed it was best to take advantage of each day and stay positive rather than to ignore the possibility that death might be around the corner ghost.Narrowing it down a bit, I also draw inspiration from my own experience as a parent of one of my own children who had to undergo a string of surgeries.My second son, Jack, who was five years old, was diagnosed with cholesteatoma in both ears - a benign tumor that, if you don't get rid of it, will eventually grow into your brain and kill you .He underwent ten operations in three years, and now his tumor has been completely removed.I obviously don't have to deal with immediate fears every moment like a mother of a child with cancer does, but it's not hard for me to recall my own worries while my son was in the hospital.I could stay with him in the operating room while he was anesthetized, and every time I walked by the gurney he was being wheeled into the operating room I thought, "Well, if it's going to stop him from suffering like this, put me Take it from my ear." That kind of complete despair and longing for him to recover became Sarah's inner monologue... This is exactly the reason why she made such a decision, and I can't hate her.

Q: Sarah is a complex character, and readers can criticize her and sympathize with her.What do you think of her character in the book? A: Like Nina Foster's role on Perfect Match, I think Sarah will spark some controversy.However, I respect Nina...and I have great respect for Sarah.I imagine she could easily be accused in this nightmare, however I would caution the reader not to jump to judgment.As Sarah says at the end of the book, this is not a case of choosing to have one child over the other—it is a case of both.I don't think she really wants Anna to die for her sister, I think she is trying to do what she thinks she should do in order to keep the family together.On the other hand, I don't think she's a perfect mother either.She's letting Jesse down -- though of course she's focused on more pressing matters.Anyway, in real life, it's hard for me to imagine a mother giving up her child so completely.Yet Sarah is too busy watching Kate's precarious future to pay attention to her family's situation at the time—an oversight of hers, one she forever regrets at the end of the book.

Q: Young people's perspectives are integral to your novels.In fact, they have more wit, humor and compassion than the other characters.Do you think adults can afford to learn from children? Why is it so easy for children to learn the truth? A: Children are the top radar device for censoring lies.One of the really hard parts of growing up is learning to appreciate the value of lying without malice, when someone is no longer being honest and forthright.For him, that was a skill necessary for maturity.Do you remember how frustrated Holden Calder was when he found out that those people were all fake? Anna was able to see the truth of the matter because mentally she was a child -- no matter how much she actually lost childhood.The best thing about writing about teens is that it allows me to go back to being them in fiction.And even when they come to understand that growing up means compromise and abandonment of ideals, they cling to hope.They might not want to admit it (Jesse was a witness!), but they pocketed hope in case it needed to be used.That's why teenagers are excellent complicated narrators.

Q: The ending of the movie was unexpected and very sad.Without revealing too much, you can share with the reader, why did you choose to end the story the way you did? Did you design it that way from the beginning, or did you develop it later? A: Let me tell you a story: It was my kids who read my books for the first time.Keeley, he was twelve years old, he picked up the book and was immediately engrossed in it.The day he finished watching, I found him crying on the sofa.He pushed me away and went upstairs into his room, and he told me that he really didn't want to see me, or talk to me at the moment, because he was so depressed.Later when we sat down to discuss it, he kept asking, "Why? Why did it end this way?" The answer I gave him (and you) was this: Because this is not a book that everyone likes, you start from the first page You know, there are no easy answers in the book.Medically, that ending is what might actually happen to the family; thematically, it’s the only way to give all the characters a heads-up about what’s most important in life.Am I hoping for a happy ending? Of course I do -- I even called the oncology nurse shortly before it was finalized to ask if there was any other way to end the story.But I finally found that if I wanted the book to be authentic, this was the right ending.

Q: All of your books so far have gotten pretty good reviews.Are you influenced by book reviews when you write? A: Well, are the book reviews you read the same as the ones I read? !I'm joking -- oh, there's a little bit of it.Although I get overwhelmingly positive reviews, I think the "bad reviews" will stick with you for a long time, because they will hurt you deeply. (No matter how many times I tell myself to ignore it, I'm still going to read it.) I've been lucky enough to write best-sellers, and they've dominated book review space by now.In the book industry, a book is often divided into critical and literary, or advertising and commercial.The highlighted reviews in magazines are very interesting - photographers come to take pictures of you looking good, people are always looking at your face and your novel introduction in the waiting room while they are waiting to see the doctor or dentist.The best thing about a book being well received is that it gets people who don't know who you are to buy your book.I never think about what a book review is going to say when I write, (in fact, if I did, I might hide under my desk and never type a word again!) But of course I do, and I write Will something intrigue the reader as much as it interests me.