Word: bookings
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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There are two pairs of twins in your book. Is there a reason that twins, in pop culture at least, are inherently creepy? Other than the Weasley boys in the Harry Potter series, you never really see twins portrayed in a happy way. I suppose one source of unease is this notion that you're not as unique as you think you are. And identical twins, of course, personify that. We don't like that. Or maybe we're drawn to it and repelled by it at the same time. Of course, I imagine a twin would look...
...much of this book takes place in a cemetery that is often more peaceful and beautiful than it is scary. When you go to different cities, do you check out their graveyards? Were any particularly memorable? You can't do this in Highgate because it's gated, but there are cemeteries in London where people walk their dogs and have picnics. It's nice. But I have to say that Milan's Cemetery Monumental is breathtaking. I was there in 1985, and it's enormous. It has some of the most amazing memorial sculpture I've ever seen...
There are many parallels between your last book, a graphic novel called The Three Incestuous Sisters, and Her Fearful Symmetry. Is there something in the way that sisters interact, in your mind, that makes those relationships fertile ground for stories to grow out of? Yes, though I should hasten to add that my relationship with my own sisters is idyllic and lovely. However, there's so much potential for rivalry and competition. But then there are all the upsides of companionship and that "Who knows you better than your sister?" feeling...
Were there certain pairs of pop-culture twins that came to mind when you were writing this book? Someone in some review somewhere mentioned Diane Arbus' photo of those young twins, and that's an iconic image for me. I'm a huge admirer of Diane Arbus. And even though my twins don't look like that and they're older, there's something in the way those two girls look at the camera. With her work, there's always this quality of looking at people maybe you feel you shouldn't be looking...
...used to teach book arts in Chicago, and you actually make books. As someone, then, who is so involved with the physical construction of books, are you concerned that one day everything will be digital? I'm concerned about the effect of the digital on the world of the printed book. I think there are a lot of things that digital books could do more effectively. I can imagine, for example, that with textbooks and telephone books and all of those resources, it would be lovely for them to be searchable the way we're used to searching the Internet...