Iris Mitlin Lav is the author of the new novel Gitel's Freedom. She also has written the novel A Wife in Bangkok. She worked for many years in the field of policy analysis and management, and she lives in Chevy Chase, Maryland.
Q: In your Author’s Note, you write about Gitel’s Freedom: “This book is based on my family’s experience, but it is fiction.” What did you see as the right balance between history and fiction as you wrote the book?
A: I was careful to accurately represent the historical background in the book, both the historical events that affected the characters from 1907 through 1968, and the places where the action took place.
I am a fan of there being a lot of dialogue in a novel to give a first-hand feel for the characters. Since about half of the novel takes place before I was born, the interactions and conversations between characters had to be completely fictional, based on my conception of the nature of the characters.
Some of the stories about the characters, such as Shmuel’s repeated health problems, are close to the truth of what happened. Other stories, such as Rayzel figuring out who stole the geese, are complete fiction.
In short, fiction filled in the parts of the novel where actual happenings were not known to me or where talking about actual events did not fit well into the novel.
Q: How did you research the book, and what did you learn that especially surprised you?
A: I used a variety of materials to research historical events, most of which is detailed in the appendix to the book entitled “Resources.” The sources included books about life in Belorussia, in South Bend, Indiana, and in the Lawndale neighborhood of Chicago, events during the Great Depression and others. I also found articles available on the Internet useful.
For family issues I relied on a relative who had done genealogical research, the recollections of an older cousin, and some letters I had saved from relatives who are no longer with us. I also used Census information, old phone books, and statistics from the Department of Labor.
I was especially surprised by the timeline of what happened during the Great Depression. My parents often told the story of how they lost their business when their bank closed and didn’t reopen, which led to the loss of their business’ working capital as well as their personal savings – which in turn set the stage for many of their subsequent problems in life.
When I researched the timeline during the Depression, I was surprised to learn how clear the warnings were of what was likely to happen. There was a period during which they could have acted to save their business if they had heeded the warnings.
In the novel, Gitel is portrayed as understanding the warnings, with Shmuel refusing to act. Whether that was what actually happened I do not know.
Q: How would you describe the relationship between Gitel and her husband, Shmuel?
A: When Gitel first met Shmuel, he was speaking about political issues at the left-wing Jewish organization Workmen’s Circle in Chicago. She had never met a man like him in her town of South Bend, and she immediately began to fall in love with him – more on an intellectual level than a physical one. And Shmuel, charmed by her interest in him and his ideas, began to fall in love with her.
After they were married, there was some strain between them caused by Gitel’s dislike of sex with Shmuel and desire to avoid it when possible. Gitel also chaffed at some of Shmuel’s traditional ideas about the role of a wife.
Despite all that, they seemed to love each other and dutifully take care of each other through their lives. But in the years between Shmuel’s stroke and his death, Gitel resented having to be his caretaker.
Q: The author Bruce J. Berger said of the book, “Gitel’s Freedom immerses the reader in the complex lives of Jewish immigrant families, providing a thought-provoking and detailed examination of what it means to start anew in America, the joys that might be nearby, and the costs that sometimes must be paid.” What do you think of that description?
A: I think it is a good description for the characters in Gitel’s Freedom for both the first- and second-generation immigrants.
Yankel, Gitel’s father, escaped the Tsar’s army, was able to establish a profitable business in South Bend, and could freely worship as he chose. For him, his decision to immigrate did bring joy, especially as his six children grew up and became comfortable in the country.
For Yankel’s wife Rayzel, the costs of her loss of culture and the status she had in Borisov, and her isolation due to her inability to speak English, clearly outweighed any small bits of joy she might have found.
For Gitel, who very much wanted to be a normal American girl, her mother Rayzel’s immigrant ideas of the proper behavior of a Jewish girl held her back – especially in the refusal to let Gitel go to college. It was a cost Gitel paid that was a major hindrance to her subsequent life.
In the next generation, being born in America gave Ilana the freedom to choose her own path in life.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: Right now I am working on the release of Gitel’s Freedom and activities to publicize it.
I have some ideas for possible future projects, including turning some outtakes from the book into short stories. I also have some thoughts about writing a nonfiction book related to my previous work life. I’ll have to see what develops when I am less busy with this book.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: I’d like to give a shout out to my publisher, She Writes Press, and its head, Brooke Warner. They have been incredibly supportive as I wrote both of my books, A Wife in Bangkok and Gitel’s Freedom.
When I started writing fiction after a long career in public policy, I had a lot to learn. I would recommend She Writes Press to anyone who is starting to write fiction without an explicit background in how to do it, as well as to other women writers.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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