Q&A with Jesi Bender

 

 

 

Jesi Bender is the author of the new novel Child of Light. Her other books include Dangerous Women. She is from upstate New York. 

 

Q: What inspired you to write Child of Light, and how did you create your character Ambrétte?

 

A: A house was the original inspiration behind Child of Light. The Memenon family home is a real house on Genesee Street in Utica that I'd drive by and dream about. Everyone in my family calls it “my” house, though I've never been inside. 

 

Utica was once incredibly beautiful and many remnants of its “former glory” are still around that stand in stark contrast to its current state. The more I thought about this red-brick Victorian house, the more I wanted to learn about Utica and what was happening when this home was built. 

 

This research evolved into a great interest in these real-life historic characters that lived in Utica and who were very different from the stereotype of Victorians, like the Rosicrucian, sex occultist Paschal Beverly Randolph. 

 

Many of these historic individuals played critical roles in turning Central New York into the "burned-over district," which was a social movement of religious revivalism and resulted in many new religions being established, ranging from Mormonism to utopian communities to Spiritualism, which sought to connect to the dead through seances. 

 

I took a deep dive into Spiritualism and wanted to explore the juxtaposition that existed at that time where there were major scientific gains (in the book represented by electrical engineering and domestic lighting) and, yet, a large contingent of society that sought comfort in religion and the supernatural. 

 

This book exists where those elements both repel each other and also, somehow, complement the other. 

 

The protagonist, Ambrétte, is introduced to Spiritualism through her mother and electricity through her father. Child of Light is about juxtaposition, death and love persisting after death, trauma as death, and I like the idea of the spirit as this metaphysical, “magical” component of life that could also be understood as an electrical pulse.  

Ambrétte is a young girl, learning about the world. She represents what it is to stand in the middle of two opposites, to experience contradiction and embody what parts synthesize. I was also interested in exploring the stringent Victorian rules about gender and sexuality, and exploring what damage those expectations can create. 

 

The root of her name is amber, which the ancient Greeks understood could generate electric shock. The last name Memenon is both a play on the French words “meme” and “non” as well as a reference to Agamemnon as I see this novel as a queer Electra myth.

 

It was important for Ambrétte to be a young woman, unsure of everything and just starting to understand many elements of life, including what it is to love and what it is to lose.  

 

Q: Did you need to do much research to write the book, and if so, did you learn anything that especially surprised you?

 

A: I did a ton of research for this book. The research fell into four major categories: Utica history in the late 19th century; history of electrical engineering; Spiritualism; and Parisian and Quebecois culture (where the parents are from). 

 

I was interested in all of it but some of the most engaging pieces of research included seeing all of the old photographs of Utica and how beautiful its architecture and communities were in the late 1800s. 

 

I also liked learning about how lighting came into homes. These old, massive light towers used to exist that would be shut off during full moons. 

 

I included these structures in a pivotal scene where Ambrétte and her friend climb to the top during "Moonlight Savings." It creates a very romantic setting, looking out over the city and down to the river, under a full moon. 

 

I also loved learning about real historical figures. One of my favorites is expressed in a vignette in the novel, about a man named Cyrus Teed. 

 

Teed was a doctor in Utica who used electricity as a tool for healing. After shocking himself badly, he experienced a divine intervention wherein an angel told him he was the messiah and he started the Koreshan Unity, which was a commune that practiced a “Hollow Earth” religion. He is just one of many real people mentioned in the novel.

 

Q: Did you know how the novel would end before you started writing it, or did you make many changes along the way?

 

A: I generally like to do all of my research and then puzzle pieces together to find interesting connections. From there, I will create a broad outline of chapters and what I'd like to cover within that section. Then, I drag specific parts of research into that chapter or specific sentences or words. 

 

It's a large puzzle that forms smaller puzzles and becomes smaller and smaller as the puzzles multiply. There is a general trajectory towards the end but I never know the exact outcome until it arrives.

 

Q: What do you hope readers take away from the book?

A: I hope someone sees some beauty in these pages, that there might be something that resonates with people. There is a lot of sadness that I think could be shared by others. I also hope that the language is interesting and challenging. I hope it makes people think.

 

Q: What are you working on now? 

 

A: I'm starting research on a novel about the IWW (Industrial Workers of the World).  Apropos of nothing in particular, I've been thinking a lot about revolution and about the malignancy of capital.  

 

Q: Anything else we should know? 

 

A: I would love to talk to anyone about this project or historical research. You can learn more about my work on my website, www.jesibender.com.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb