Q&A with Micah Thorp

 

 

 

Micah Thorp is the author of the new novel Aegolius Creek. His other books include Uncle Joe's Muse. He is also a physician, and he's based in Portland, Oregon. 

 

Q: What inspired you to write Aegolius Creek, and how did you create your character Don Karlsson?

A: Ken Kesey’s novel Sometimes a Great Notion is considered by many to be the quintessential novel about Oregon. Aside from being beautifully written, it describes a culture that existed in the mid-20th century in the state, one of hardheaded fiercely independent loggers.

 

I wanted to write a story that centered around how that culture has changed in the ensuing decades, particularly after the timber wars of the 1980s and ‘90s, which devastated much of the state’s rural economy.

Kesey’s novel is built around the community of Wakonda, a fictional community very similar to a number of small towns in southwest Oregon. Similarly, in Aegolius Creek I wanted to create a place that could be easily mistaken for a real one.

Don Karlsson represents the archetype of the 20th century logger. I’ve known more than a few of Don Karlssons – tough as nails, rough around the edges but with a well of grounded wisdom. It was important to get inside his head, so throughout the novel, which is written in a third person present tense voice, I include his first-person perspective.

Q: How would you describe the dynamic among the members of Don’s family?

A: Complicated. Each child has a motivation that’s different and each has a different relationship with the others.

 

With the loss of the family matriarch, they have had to manage their grief in different ways: Zeke became quite spiritual, Stacy does everything she can to run away, Don and Billy stuff their emotions. The conflict within the family is in many ways spawned by each characters’ management of the loss.

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 actually started the novel by writing the ending. The prologue and epilogue describe the end of the story from an outsider’s point of view and the rest of the novel essentially tells the story of how we got there.

 

Once the ending was set, it was relatively easy to sketch out the story. The harder part was filling in all the important details that add color to the narrative.

Q: The author Maryka Biaggio said of the book, “As environmentalists, politicians, and profiteers clash over a fragile ecosystem, one family’s struggle for identity, justice, and belonging takes center stage in this powerful novel about the limits of ownership and the cost of conviction.” What do you think of that description?

A: I’m a fan of anything Maryka writes, so naturally I think it’s pretty good. My hope was that the book provides a variety of perspectives about how we view the places where we live and how they help create our individual identities.

Q: What are you working on now?

A: A novel set in Vanport, Oregon. The story of Vanport is mind-boggling. Created during World War II, it grew from 600 acres of uninhabited swamp into the second largest city in Oregon in less than a year. And on May 31, 1948, was completely washed away by a flood.  

Q: Anything else we should know?

A: Aegolius Creek is available in paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb