Laura Buchwald is the author of the new novel The Coat Check Girl. She is the co-host of the podcast People Who Do Things. She's based in Manhattan.
Q: What inspired you to write The Coat Check Girl, and how did you create your character Josie?
A: My inspiration was two-fold. First, I got to know the staff members at the restaurant Bistrot is based on and was fascinated by their dynamic – a loving, dysfunctional family of people who’d come to New York to do different things, taken restaurant jobs, and stayed far longer than they’d expected to.
I thought there was something book-worthy there – and then, I began to get creepy feelings right outside their ladies’ room, feelings that reminded me of the basement and attic of my childhood home.
I asked the bartender if the ladies’ room was haunted and he said, “Yes, other people have said that.” It was a very old building with a lot of history.
It's hard to imagine now, but Josie was not my original protagonist--she was a secondary character based on someone I knew from the restaurant that inspired Bistrot.
Because she was secondary she was much more one-dimensional--funny, cynical, not much depth because she didn't need it. But once it became clear that she was the star of the story, she morphed into a much more complex and nuanced character and now bears little similarity to the person I first modeled her after.
As I figured out the "what" and "why" and "why now" of my story, I honed in on her grieving process and the empathy that is such an important part of who she is. She's an amalgam of some of the best and most complicated traits in people I know and love.
Q: Did you need to do any research to write the novel, and if so, did you learn anything that especially surprised you?
A: I did a lot of research – spent time in restaurants, went to New Orleans, crowd-sourced ghost stories. And then I did extensive research on the time period – my book is set in 1999 with flashbacks to 1974.
Things that surprised me: how many people have had otherworldly encounters and are eager to discuss them, and how much happened in 1999… it was a very rich time in our country’s—and world’s—history. Lots of cultural milestones.
Q: The writer Claudia Zuluaga said of the book, “Laura Buchwald’s gorgeous debut is about our universal search for wholeness and connection. While this book is wonderfully entertaining, don't be surprised if you find true spiritual comfort within its endearing depths.” What do you think of that description?
A: I love this description. One of the themes of my book is grief and how we navigate the process, and I strive to offer comfort and hope by exploring the very real possibility of an afterlife.
Grief is the most universal experience I can think of and it’s something that anchors us more deeply to the world and to one another. So if a reader feels spiritually connected to something larger after reading this, I’ve done part of what I set out to do.
Q: Did you know how the novel would end before you started writing it, or did you make many changes along the way?
A: Absolutely not! This story evolved an incredible amount through the course of my writing it over many years and there were many changes and surprises along the way. In fact my protagonist was originally intended as a secondary character.
I tend to start more with a premise than a plot and I discover the plot through the writing of the first draft or two. One of the big things that happens toward the end of this book actually came to me in a dream, which is one the coolest writing experiences I’ve had.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: The Coat Check Girl is the first in a three-book series. I’ve just turned in a draft of Book Two and am thinking about Book Three…
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: If you’ve read the book, it probably won’t surprise you to know that I do believe in an afterlife, and this is a source of great comfort for me.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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