CHARLES BAXTER

Charles Baxter studied English at Macalester College in St. Paul and the State University of New York in Buffalo. He has taught at Wayne State University, as well as the University of Michigan, and now resides in his home state of Minnesota. He has published 3 novels, as well as short stories, poems, and essays. For more information on his published works, go to www.charlesbaxter.com

Interview with the Author
Charles Baxter was kind enough to answer our questions via email

Ari Kestler: Who, if anyone, would you say is the main character?

Charles Baxter: I started the book thinking that Diana was; then I changed my mind and decided that Bradley was the main character. By the time I finished the book, I had changed my mind again and decided that Chloe was the main character--she has the most passion and in a sense goes through more ordeals than anyone else. That's why she gets the curtain speech.

AK: Are the relationships between the characters in the novel representative of those from your own life?

CB: No. The book is not really autobiographical, nor is it based on the lives of people I know, or knew.

AK: What was the most difficult chapter or section for you to write and why?

CB: Chapter Eleven. I had to get Diana's voice right--both defiant and vulnerable--and I had to write a chapter in which a large complex of contradictory feelings, both hers and David's, would become visible dramatically, without going over-the-top.

AK: What inspired you to write the book?

CB: Seeing my son in a middle school production of “A Midsummer Night's Dream”.

AK: What did you hope to communicate to the readers of your novel, or what was your purpose in writing the book?

CB: I wanted to communicate a story, a series of dramatic images and scenes. That wish always precedes any wish to communicate a 'meaning' or anything of that sort. My purpose in writing that book was to write a book, just as a reason for writing a song is to write a song. I know that sounds tautological, but it's true.

AK: Do you feel that this purpose was achieved?

CB: Yes. The book exists.

AK: Who was your favorite character in the novel (or what was your favorite relationship in the novel)?

CB: Oh, probably Chloe, if I were forced to choose. But I loved them all, and I missed them when I finished the book.

AK: Did you come up with the title before or after writing the book, and if after, what was the working title?

CB: I'm fairly sure I had the title right from the start, since I had a fairly clear idea of what I wanted to do in the novel.