Michael Konik is the author of the new novel Magic Boy. His other books include The Unexpected Guest. He lives in Los Angeles.
Q: What inspired you to write Magic Boy, and how did you create your character Misha?
A: I've always wondered what it must be like to be the best in the world at something. Is it lonely? Satisfying? Frightening? And how does it happen? Surely separating oneself from every other person on the planet involves more than outworking and out-practicing everyone else. Perhaps the secret is magic…
Misha is a hybrid of Magnus Carlsen, the greatest chess player of all time (and still a young man), and myself, the greatest at nothing, but someone who has had a peculiar and wonderful life, filled with weird and beautiful people and experiences.
Q: How was the book’s title chosen, and what does it signify for you?
A: The book is a memoir of one ingenious person's attempt to figure out his place in the world, his identity -- something we all grapple with. Misha eventually accepts he is indeed a "magic boy." The irony: we are all magic in our own way.
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 Misha would win the world championship. I knew he would find peace with who he is. But I didn't know how. It was a great pleasure to figure out the puzzle.
Like almost all of my books, Magic Boy was composed without a formal outline, guided only by some vague ideas of plot-driven signposts along the journey.
Q: Why did you decide to focus on chess in this novel?
A: For the past decade chess has been my extracurricular passion and fascination. I'm a player; I'm a student; I'm a fan. And although I consider myself resoundingly mediocre at the game, I love it, and I admire those who have mastered it, or at least solved some of its mysteries.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I'm polishing a collection of poetry, a compendium of poems I've published in various literary journals and anthologies over the past decade.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: I'm grateful for your interest, and for readers in general. My work is meant for everyone, but especially for people who love books, who relish beautiful writing, who think and feel deeply. Magic Boy is for them.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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