Q&A with Victoria Redel

 

 

 

Victoria Redel is the author of the new novel I Am You. It is based on the life of still life painter Maria van Oosterwijck (1620-1693). Redel's other books include Before Everything. She is a professor at Sarah Lawrence College.

 

Q: What inspired you to write I Am You?

 

A: On one level, I Am You is an ode to paint and painters. I've long been fascinated by how paint is made and the history of the global pigment trade. The Dutch Golden Age was a particularly rich moment for art/artists. 

 

Q: How would you describe the dynamic between your characters Gerta and Maria? 

 

A: Their dynamic is, well, dynamic-- by which I mean it keeps shifting. The power at first seems somewhat fixed, but as the novel progresses, boundaries are crossed and the obvious power becomes much less predictable.

 

I'm interested in the blurry lines between the two women-- the moments where jealousy, love, devotion, intimacy, ambition all go topsy-turvy.

 

Q: How did you research the book, and what did you learn that especially surprised you?

 

A: You can imagine that a book set in the 17th century involved a good deal of research. I read everything-- books, journals, papers-- about artists, daily life, religion, flowers, trade. I looked at etchings and paintings to understand how life was lived.

 

So much surprised me. The idea of the complete or perfect flower--such as the rose or the tulip, which has both male and female reproductive parts. This bit of flower morphology fit perfectly with an aspect of the book, so that was quite a delicious find.

 

Q: The author Michael Cunningham said of the book, “I Am You is that rarest of novels, a story of ferocious insights into the human psyche and the drive to create art, coupled with twists and turns that grab you from the beginning and don't let go until the end.” What do you think of that description? 

 

A: Well, the first and truest thing I think is bless you, bless you, bless you, Michael Cunningham!  I can only hope that others find what Michael found to be true when they read the book.

 

Q: What are you working on now? 

 

A: I'm poking around at something. But it's honestly too new and tender to speak about without it evaporating before I finish the sentence.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: Only that I hope that readers find their way to I Am You and come to love Maria and Gerta in all their difficulty and splendor.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with Victoria Redel.