Oleander Girl (49 page)

Author Questionnaire

1. You’ve written novels, short stories, and poetry. How is the writing process similar or different for each form?

The writing process is different for each in some ways. For instance, with poetry, I would get sudden moments of inspiration, and I’d usually write the entire first draft at once. With short stories and novels, I have to plan things out much more carefully, and think about developing characters, themes, and settings. But what’s similar is that for all of them I have to have an idea or an image that fascinates me, that I can’t forget, that I must explore. And all forms require a lot of revision!

2. Were there any aspects of Korobi’s upbringing that come from your own life growing up in Kolkata? You were only a little older than Korobi when you first came to the United States. How does Korobi’s first impression of the United States compare to your own?

I grew up in a traditional Hindu family, like Korobi, so many aspects of her upbringing are very familiar to me—from my own family, and the households of friends. When I was almost done with writing the novel, I realized—with some surprise–that a lot of my own grandfather was reflected in Korobi’s grandfather.

My own first impressions of America are from the 1970s—things were very different then for immigrants. There was a much smaller Indian community, and communicating with India was more difficult and expensive. I felt cut off, as though I’d moved to a different world. But everything was also new and exciting. People were very curious about India—and overall, very kind. Korobi is much more connected (through technology) to those she leaves behind, yet she still feels some of that same excitement, of having entered a different world. She is challenged differently, though, by 9/11, which made life a lot harder for brown-skinned people in America, subjecting them to a new kind of prejudice and distrust.

3. A prominent theme in your writing is the experience of being caught between two worlds, such as India and the United States. How does
Oleander Girl
continue to build on this idea?

Korobi in
Oleander Girl
is definitely torn between two worlds—the values of India and America, how women are expected to behave in each culture, the importance America places on the individual versus the privilege given to family by Indian culture. She will also be attracted to two men who in some ways are products of these dichotomies, and she will have to choose between them.

4. Religion and religious conflicts appear frequently in this novel. What was your religious experience growing up? How did that change or develop when you moved to the United States?

I grew up a Hindu and remain one, although now I am more interested in a spirituality that embraces people of different faiths. It strikes me as a terrible irony that religion, which should help people see the divine in each other and to respond to those around us with compassion, has been the cause for so much bloodshed in the world.
Oleander Girl
examines this issue and, I hope, will make readers think of possible alternatives to religious strife.

5. Two of your novels,
Sister of My Heart
and
The Mistress of Spices
,were made into movies. What was it like to see your words come to life on the big screen? How would
Oleander Girl
translate to film?

It was very exciting, in both cases, to see my words translated into images and actions. I had known the films would be different from the books, and they were. Each medium has its strength. A book is much more introspective; a film can sway you through a wonderful visual moment, an expression on an actor’s face.

I think
Oleander Girl
would do very well as a film. The historic old house in which Korobi grows up, or the run-down New York apartment where the Mitras have been forced to retreat after the misfortunes that strike them following 9/11 would make powerful settings. There’s a lot of dramatic action that would translate well on the big screen, as well, and moments of psychological complexity that could be shown poignantly on the screen through facial expressions and gestures. Relationships are very important in
Oleander Girl
, and that’s a key ingredient in a good movie!

6. Are there any particular writers you admire and draw upon for your writing?

There are so many that it’s impossible to list them all. I’ll put down a few favorites here: Margaret Atwood for the amazing and dramatically fraught world she imagines in
The Handmaid’s Tale
; Anita Desai for her deep understanding of Indian cultural intricacies in
Clear Light of Day
; Tim O’Brien for his originality, poetry, and heart in his Vietnam short stories in
The Things They Carried
; Maxine Hong Kingston for her weaving of myth and immigrant issues in her memoir
The Woman Warrior
; Italo Calvino for his imagination, poetry and structural intricacies in
Imaginary Cities.

7. You’ve written about 9/11 and the aftermath of the tragedy before. This novel takes place one year later and is not directly about 9/11, yet the characters are still affected by the event. How does your inclusion of 9/11 in
Oleander Girl
differ from its place in your other writing?

In
Oleander Girl
I’m looking at the long-range effects of 9/11—the way it took hold of the American psyche. (And in a way, continues to do so today. Flying while brown is still a very real phenomenon that I have to deal with when I travel.) I’m also looking at it from different angles—how the hate-crimes that rose from it affected brown-skinned Americans who had nothing to do with the terrorist act, but also the fear and despair and anger that led to those acts, how so many kinds of lives became unraveled as a result.

8. Some of your works, such as
Queen of Dreams
and
Mistress of Spices
are located in the realm of fantasy. While
Oleander Girl
is based in reality, some of the characters have visions and dreams that they fully believe. For example, Korobi believes her mother’s spirit comes to her the night before her engagement to give her an important message. Do you believe that our deceased loved ones ever visit us in our dreams? Or is this another example of fantasy?

I believe there are many layers of reality. The logic-based one that we privilege, particularly in the Western world, is only one of them. So yes, I believe many mysterious and unexplained events—such as a visit from the dead—can occur.

9. Do you do any kind of research to write from so many different perspectives? Do you have any strategies to help you get into the mind of a certain character?

I do a lot of research before I write a novel. For
Oleander Girl
, I researched 9/11 and its aftermath, especially in New York. I also researched New York neighborhoods, particularly the Queens/Jackson Heights/Astoria area. I wrote with a map of Kolkata in front of me, so I would get street names and distances travelled by characters correct. I even researched the architecture, structure, and building materials of colonial-period homes in India so I could write about the damages suffered by Korobi’s ancestral home. But a lot of things I knew already, through personal experience, or hearing old stories.

My strategy for characters is a fairly simple one—to just be quiet and imagine them.

If I am still, I can hear the character begin to speak. I get a visual image of them doing something in a scene. That’s when I can start writing about them.

10. What are you working on next?

I'm writing a novel that will re-tell the story of India's most famous epic, the
Ramayana
, from the point of view of the main female character, Sita. I am always interested in how the female perspective differs from the male, and Sita's story, dramatic and powerful and tragic, is a great opportunity.  Here's the story in brief: Sita follows her husband, Prince Rama, into exile in the forest. There she is abducted by a demon king. She resists his advances and remains faithful to her husband as he gathers an army to battle the demon king. Rama is ultimately victorious and returns in triumph to his kingdom with Sita—but just when we expect a happy ending, he sends Sita away because his subjects believe she has been "tainted." Sita must give birth to Rama's twin sons in the forest, and bring them up on her own.  Years later, he sees the twins, realizes they are his, and asks Sita to return to his kingdom. You'll have to read the novel to find out what she decides to do, and why.

CHITRA BANERJEE DIVAKARUNI
is the author of the acclaimed novels
The Mistress of Spices, Sister of My Heart,
The Vine of Desire,
Palace of Illusions,
and
One Amazing Thing
; two short story collections,
Arranged Marriage
and
The Unknown Errors of Our Lives
; four volumes of poetry; and a novel for young readers,
Neela: Victory Song
. Her work has appeared in
The New Yorker, The Atlantic,
and
The New York Times
. Born in India, she currently lives in Texas, where she teaches writing at the University of Houston.

authors.simonandschuster.com/Chitra-Banerjee-Divakaruni

MEET THE AUTHORS, WATCH VIDEOS AND MORE AT

SimonandSchuster.com

JACKET DESIGN BY R. GILL

JACKET PHOTOGRAPHS: FLOWER © DEREK HALL/DORLING KINDERSLEY/GETTY; SKYLINE © PHOTONICA/GETTY

AUTHOR PHOTOGRAPH © MURTHY DIVAKARUNI

COPYRIGHT © 2013 SIMON & SCHUSTER

ALSO BY CHITRA BANERJEE DIVAKARUNI

One Amazing Thing

Shadowland

The Palace of Illusions

The Mirror of Fire and Dreaming

Queen of Dreams

California Uncovered: Stories for the 21st Century

The Conch Bearer

Neela: Victory Song

The Vine of Desire

The Unknown Errors of Our Lives

Sister of My Heart

The Mistress of Spices

Leaving Yuba City

Arranged Marriage

Black Candle

The Reason for Nasturtiums

Simon & Schuster, Inc.

1230 Avenue of the Americas

New York, NY 10020

www.SimonandSchuster.com

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2012 by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information, address Simon & Schuster Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

SIMON & SCHUSTER
and colophon are trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

The Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau can bring authors to your live event. For more information or to book an event, contact the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau at 1-866-248-3049 or visit our website at
www.simonspeakers.com
.

Book design by Ellen R. Sasahara

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data