Victor Suthammanont is the author of the new novel Hollow Spaces. He is also a lawyer, and he lives in New York City.
Q: What inspired you to write Hollow Spaces, and how did you create your characters John, Brennan, and Hunter?
A: I came to the novel from two different angles. First, I was interested in exploring the concept of generational traumas and the emotional scars children inherit from their parents. Second, I was taken with the idea of starting a story at the "end," which in a legal drama, is usually the verdict.
From there, I focused on an acquittal, because that is both a triumph of our legal system, but also a terrible tragedy. Either an innocent man was accused and tried or a guilty person has gone free.
I think it's the combination of those two concepts--inheritance and the ongoing trauma of the legal process--that pushed me to write Hollow Spaces.
As to the characters, well, I obviously needed some to tell the story. But I started with John, the father. I think in simplest terms, he is sort of a nightmare version of myself. I basically wrote him by asking myself: what are my darkest emotions and what if I did not have all of the social support and emotional tools to manage them?
For the children, Brennan and Hunter, I simply imagined who his children would be if they had this father, why they would form different opinions about his guilt or innocence. But some of it is simply the magic of imagination. Once I start writing, the characters do take over to a certain extent.
Q: How was the novel’s title chosen, and what does it signify for you?
A: I did not come to the title for a while. Like for months after I completed the draft. I polled some of my beta readers what they thought it should be, but none of the suggestions resonated.
But once the "hollow" part came to me, that resonated, and I played around with a bunch of different variations on that before I got to "spaces."
For me, it was both a literal play on a plot element, but also addresses the real emotional gaps all of the primary characters--frankly, all of us--have to contend with.
Beyond that, I think it invites the reader to interrogate the big picture ideas the book addresses--what are the hollow spaces in our justice system? Because there are many.
Q: How did your experiences as a lawyer factor into the writing of the novel?
A: For one thing, it made it easier to write the legal elements of the novel. And I was able to draw on my experience in law firms to write those settings.
As a former government enforcement lawyer, I did a lot of thinking about the justice system and shortfalls in it from both the government's perspective and a defendant's perspective.
But it was difficult, too, because I wanted to keep the plot moving without getting bogged down in a legal treatise, while also keeping it realistic enough that I wouldn't get a rash of emails from other lawyers telling me what I got wrong.
Q: The New York Times review of the novel, by Sarah Weinman, says, “The heart of Hollow Spaces lies in the way children repeat their parents’ mistakes — and the not-so-casual racism in privileged spaces.” What do you think of that assessment?
A: First, I was so proud that the work the team at Counterpoint put into getting this book out there and seen was recognized.
Second, as a writer, I was just blown away by the review. Getting a book published was a bucket-list moment, but making the New York Times was another. I still don't know that I've fully digested it.
But in terms of her assessment, Ms. Weinman really got where I was going when I wrote this story.
When I was writing, I wasn't thinking that I was writing a "legal thriller" or "mystery." I was very much focused on the characters and exploring that element. The underlying mystery was just the vehicle to do that in. I think that "heart" as she calls it drives the book forward more than the mystery.
I also did focus on highlighting the racism that is still explicit in so many of the spaces we inhabit.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I like to jump between various ideas and projects until one grabs me enough to dedicate my sole focus on it.
I have a couple of projects that, in broad terms, look at grief and moral accountability, one that is very "vibes" based, and another that is pure fun--at least until I think of some big idea I want to draw out of it.
Honestly, the number of ideas I have that come from a joke or idle musing I have with friends in a bar is a lot.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: I keep my website updated if folks want to attend an event for Hollow Spaces. If you're more of a listener, I think the audio version, narrated by Feodor Chin, is great. He did an outstanding job. But also, I just hope that folks enjoy the read, and that the book resonates with them.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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