Chatting About The Book of George, Writing Nonlinear Stories, and New York with Kate Greathead: author interview

The Book of George debuted this week, and I got the pleasure of chatting with the author, Kate Greathead, about writing her sophomore novel. In this interview, we talk about the start of George in Kate's imagination, writing a story that spans so much time, capturing New York in prose, who she shares her work with, and what she's reading these days. I particularly loved hearing Kate talk about writing stories that don't consider the plot as the primary engine. 

If you're not familiar with her novels, you can check out my reviews of The Book of George and her debut Laura and Emma.

Where did this book begin for you? Did George’s life come to you in a linear fashion or did one of these chapters appear first? 

Sadly, nothing comes to me in a linear, organized fashion. I began with a chapter that ultimately got cut from the book. George goes to a one-man show, a monologue written and performed by a friend, and while it’s very good, George cannot enjoy it because he’s overwhelmed with jealousy, self-loathing and anxiety about his own lack of accomplishments. 

 

This book covers a massive swath of George’s life from childhood to almost forty. How did you know the right place to conclude George’s story as far as the book goes? 

I wanted to end right at the beginning of mid-life, to give George (and the reader) hope of a second act. I believe young adulthood is overrated, and once we get over ourselves and our youthfully grand ambitions, once we make some kind of peace with being an ordinary person living an unremarkable life, then we can start to enjoy life more—or live it on its own terms, rather than experience everything as a disappointment or departure from how we imagined our lives should be. That’s been the case for me, and I hope that’s the case for George. 

 

New York almost becomes a character in both of your novels. What is it that draws you to capturing the city in your writing? 

It’s the place I know better than anywhere else. It’s where I was born and spent most of my life. I have a love/hate relationship with the city, but for better or worse it’s my home. One thing I do love about New York is that it provides lots of material for writing. The theater of humanity, I call it. At this moment I’m semi-distracted by an animated argument between two Eastern European men transpiring outside my window. Sometimes I’ll work in a coffeeshop just for inspiration. I probably shouldn’t admit this, but on more than one occasion I’ve found myself literally transcribing the dialogue of people sitting right near me. Is that even legal? 

 

Both of your novels cover a large span of time and give a very global look at the characters. Do you have advice for writers looking to wrangle an expansive timeline in their own work? 

I don’t look at my approach as a technique, more of a way of telling a story that’s not driven by plot. I’m more interested in character development over time, and that requires covering many years. But it took me years to realize this. I used to try to write more conventional fiction with a plot but it often felt contrived. It just didn’t come naturally to me. And then one day I picked up Evan S. Connell’s Mrs. Bridge. That’s my advice, to read that book. 

 

When you’re working on a new project, when do you start sharing your work with others? Who is your first reader?

 

My husband, who is also a novelist, and not until my manuscript is completely done and polished because he doesn’t mince his words and I’m very thin-skinned and need to preserve my confidence in order to finish. 

 

George has such a specific voice that jumps off the page. Did he come to you fully formed, or how did you go about getting to know George? The summary paints him as kind of any every-man but you go so far beyond that in making him a very detailed, singular human. 

Thank you. He felt fully formed from the start. I once took a drawing class and the instructor told us that people tend to draw their own features even when they are staring at a model. Like it’s an unconscious thing, they’re not aware of doing it. I thought that was so interesting. I’ll leave it at that. 

 

How do you write a main character that is deeply annoying or frustrating in the way that George can sometimes be but still keep the reader on their side?

I love the challenge of trying to render an “unlikeable character” endearing. I think it comes down to making the reader understand and appreciate that character’s psychic landscape. I think if you really know someone, where they’re coming from, their complexes, childhood wounds, baggage, etc., it’s hard not to root for them in spite of how annoying they can be. I mean, think of people in your family, right? 

 

What are you reading these days?

I tend to get obsessed with a specific author and binge read all their books. Halle Butler, James Lasdun and Vigdis Hjorth have been big ones for me this year. If any of them are reading this, there’s no more left, please write more! 

 

More Author Interviews:

Alison Espach author interview


More on Reading, Writing, and Me:

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake review

Long Island Compromise review

Blue Sisters review

The Anthropologists review

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