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"It's the women who still ask me about Joan. Young women, who have stumbled upon her story and my part in it. Old women, who used to admire her photographs in the gossip columns: Joan the jewel, a glimmer on some man's arm. Frank Sinatra's, Dick Krueger's, Diamond Glenn's. They want to know who she was. First, I tell them, she was Furlow Fortier's little blond darling. From the very beginning, she was adored." - The After Party, Prologue
We are basically swooning with excitement to share below a little interview with amazing author (and professor at Emily's alma mater, Auburn University #wareagle) Anton DiSclafani #suchanhonor #blogfeelssolegit! The interview was born out of questions we debated after reading her most recent book, which she was kind enough to discuss with us. So first, a bit of a summary of The After Party, followed by our discussion in the YOA Treatment section.
The Sum of It:
On a recent rainy getaway weekend at a pretty fabulous house on the water, I (Emily) had a chance to absolutely devour Anton DiSclafani's newest novel, The After Party. Audrey and I both read The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls a couple years ago during the first year of the two-person book club that eventually evolved into The Year of Agatha and LOVED it, so when we heard Ms. DiSclafani had a new title (with this absolutely gorgeous cover), we were 100% in.
The After Party is a sumptuous depiction of the high life in Texas in the mid-century, painting pictures of the clothes, hair styles, home decor, and cocktails that period of time immediately conjurs. More significantly, though, the book is an intricate study of the many depths each person holds, and the way those layers impact personal relationships. As with The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls, the characters in the book are linked not just by friendship but by more than one secret, which ties the action and narration together and is gradually revealed throughout the story. This book will make you want a stiff cocktail and a chaise lounge, and will also make you think and bring you to tears. Can't recommend it enough. Get thee to your local bookshop today!
The YOA Treatment:
This year, as our faithful readers know, now that we've completed our reading of the entire Christie canon we are trying to explore the broader world of crime and mystery fiction. However, as we dig into our "to be read" stacks, we've run up against the question of what exactly is the line between genre fiction of that nature and just the use of elements of it in literary fiction. The After Party is one of the books we've read this year that raised that question for us, so we were really pumped to discuss that very thing with author Anton DiSclafani! Without further ado:
YOA asks: Books like The After Party have led us to ask ourselves where the line is drawn between the crime fiction/mystery genre and great literary fiction that uses some element of mystery or crime to advance the plot. What are your thoughts on (as you've so eloquently posed) where this line is drawn, how authors straddle or cross it, and what type of books result when the line is crossed or blurred?
AD answers: I think interesting, vital books result whenever a line is crossed or blurred. I teach creative writing, and I talk to my students a lot about the difference between literary fiction and genre fiction. I don't care if they write about zombies, or a broken marriage, or the dissolution of a marriage brought about by zombies; I care about being surprised by their stories. I want to not know what's going to happen next. For me, that's genre fiction--turning a page and knowing, more or less, what's on the next page. So any fiction that combines certain elements of genre fiction--in my case, mystery--and then the hallmarks of literary fiction--a character-driven story: well, that's my sweet spot, as a writer and a reader.
I appreciate a good plot. Plot is difficult, but it should also be simple. If I'm not able to explain to you in a few sentences what the plot of my book is about, then it's too convoluted.
YOA asks: Both of your most recent books (The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls and The After Party) have elements of secrecy and crimes that add to the compelling plots and are part of what keeps readers turning the pages to get to the bottom of what really happened in the characters' lives. From where does your inspiration come for these elements in your work (i.e. any authors you're inspired by, stories in the news, photos, strictly your imagination)?
AD answers: I love Kazuo Ishiguro, and his unreliable narrators. I love Kate Walbert, for atmosphere and sheer beauty of prose. (And both these authors are interested in secrets, in their own way.) I'm not inspired by real-life events per se, but I am interested in all the ways women were compelled to keep secrets, historically-speaking, especially when the secrets involved sexuality or children. A friend told a story about a a great-aunt who came of age in the 30s. She had a child out of wedlock when she was a teenager, and that child (a boy) was raised as his mother's brother by her parents (and his grandparents). That's convoluted, I know, but the lengths women (and their families) went to, or were forced to go to, in order to hide children were, well, convoluted. And deeply sad. I suppose THE AFTER PARTY was inspired by a story like that.
YOA asks: Based on our research over the course of the last year in learning more about Agatha Christie and her peers in the mystery/crime fiction genre, it has seemed that historically, writers of genre fiction such as this have perhaps not received the same level of respect as writers of literary fiction. Do you feel like that has changed/is changing in recent years? And if so, why do you think that might be?
AD answers: I think I am perceived as writing women's fiction more than I am perceived as writing mystery/crime fiction, though I am flattered by the categorization! I really admire writers who can do plot. I hope the perception is changing, and there are certainly authors who are doing both: John Banville, who writes under the pen name Benjamin Black when he's doing mystery. Sarah Waters is genius at plot, and I don't think anyone could argue with her literary merit. People want to read a good story; I like to believe, as a writer, that readers want to be surprised, not just engaged. Or that their engagement depends on a book doing something interesting, something different.
YOA asks: Our final question: Have you read Agatha Christie's work in the past, and if so, could you tell us your favorite of her books?
AD answers: Sadly, a long time ago, and I remember enjoying it but I definitely need to revisit her work. Especially after hanging out on The Year of Agatha!
Well, we are #flattered to hear that, and so, so grateful for Ms. DiSclafani's willingness to share her brilliant thoughts here at The Year of Agatha. We hope you've all enjoyed it as well!
- E.
