Joanna Cantor is the author of the new novel Alternative Remedies for Loss. Her work has appeared in a variety of publications, including Literary Hub and Electric Literature, and she also teaches yoga. She lives in Brooklyn.
Q:
What was the inspiration for Alternative Remedies for Loss, and how did you
come up with your main character, Olivia?
A:
I began Alternative Remedies for Loss as a short story, inspired by “Safari,” a
chapter of Jennifer Egan’s A Visit from the Goon Squad. I love family dramas
and set myself the goal of writing a story similar to “Safari” but about a
family traveling to India. After I completed the story, I didn’t feel finished
with the characters, and I thought maybe the story could become a novel. So I
kept writing.
When
I came up with the character of Olivia, I was fairly new to writing fiction and
just learned how to let my characters mess up. It felt liberating to create a female
protagonist who was constantly stepping into action, rather than sitting around
overthinking every email and conversation (which is more the way I am!) So from
the start, she was feisty, gutsy, and not a people pleaser.
Q:
You've said Jennifer Egan is one of the authors you particularly admire. How
has her writing influenced your own?
A:
One thing I admire about Jennifer Egan’s work is that, though several of her
books are formally innovative, she doesn’t sacrifice character or plot in order
to be cutting edge. Her books are always compelling stories with interesting,
three-dimensional characters.
Though
Alternative Remedies is formally quite traditional, I was drawn to Egan’s work
and, as I mentioned above, a chapter from A Visit from the Goon Squad inspired
me to write the first part of my novel.
A
few years later, I read Egan’s novel The Invisible Circus, and the structure of
that book—a secret within a secret—helped me find a plot for my book. It was
helpful to look closely at the work of a writer I admired to see how she solved
a similar narrative problem.
Q:
The book includes scenes set in India. Why did you choose that as one of the
book's locations, and how important is setting to you in your work?
A:
I studied abroad in Northern India in college (I was based in Bodh Gaya, the
town where the fictional ashram Olivia visits is located).
My
time in India had a big impact on me; it was the first place I’d traveled that
felt dramatically different from the United States, and it made me question
some of my basic assumptions about how to live and what my priorities were.
I
always knew I wanted to write something set in India. When I began telling the
story of Olivia and her family, I liked the idea of setting a messy family situation
against the already rich and complicated backdrop of foreign travel.
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 knew almost nothing when I started writing! There was a premise, but no real
plot—I spent a while getting to know my characters, just allowing them to talk
to each other and wander around.
By
the time I figured out the arc, I did have an endpoint in sight, though of
course smaller things changed along the way. (The first draft was actually
written from multiple points of view, and I then rewrote some chapters from
Olivia’s perspective once I realized this was really her story.)
Q:
What are you working on now?
A:
I’ve been pretty busy with everything leading up to publication (as well as my
other job, teaching yoga) so I haven’t sunk my teeth into a new book just yet. I
have only a vague inkling of what my next project might be—but I’m excited to
get started soon.
Q:
Anything else we should know?
A:
I’m thrilled that Alternative Remedies for Loss is finally out in the world
after a long gestation, and very grateful for the opportunity to talk about it!
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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