Interview: April 2009

 

Andrew Klavan is the author of over 20 mysteries and psychological thrillers for adults, such as THE ANIMAL HOUR, TRUE CRIME and DON'T SAY A WORD. He recently tried his hand at writing for teen audiences, publishing THE LAST THING I REMEMBER, the first installment in a new series called The Homelanders. 

In this interview with Teenreads.com's Sarah A. Wood, Klavan describes what prompted him to focus on younger readers and discusses some of the themes of the book, such as struggling with identity and values, the idea of muscular pacifism, and the still-present effects of 9/11. He also explains how his previous career in journalism affects his work as a novelist, shares his own experiences with martial arts training, and reveals what readers can expect from the second book in the series.

 

Teenreads.com: You are already an award-winning bestselling author of books for adults. What made you decide to write a book for young people, specifically this novel, in which a seemingly typical high-schooler ends up fighting for his life?

 

Andrew Klavan: I’ve made something of a unique career for myself writing high-octane, rocket-fast thrillers that nonetheless deal with some pretty big questions: questions of identity, of understanding reality, of bottom-line values and how you justify them. It occurred to me that --- in some ways --- those are questions of special importance to young people, and that there weren’t enough stories around for them that had the pace and excitement I try to provide that also dealt with those kinds of issues. I love video games, and I thought: if I could present kids with a book that competes with the excitement and pace of one of those games and yet gives them the far richer inner experience of a book --- that would be a real accomplishment.

 

TRC: One of the things that Charlie discovers as he unravels the events is that he has supposedly fallen in with a group of terrorists on American soil. It’s hard to imagine THE LAST THING I REMEMBER written before the events of September 11th. The readers for which this book is intended were very young when 9/11 occurred. How do you think the events of September 11th will continue to resonate in their lives?

 

AK: I wish I believed those events were going to fade away and become a distant memory for us all, but I don’t think anyone can believe they will. The forces and philosophy that brought 9/11 to our shores are still out there, still roiling every corner of the globe. We can close our eyes, cover our ears, cover our mouths like the monkeys in the picture, but those who believe that liberty is a heretical error that must be destroyed are still going to be there when we face reality. We’re not only going to need physical courage to oppose them, we’re going to need the courage of our convictions; and in order to have that, we’re going to need to know what our convictions are and why we hold them. That’s part of what this book is about.

 

TRC: THE LAST THING I REMEMBER begins with Charlie waking amidst a torture scenario. Do you feel torture is acceptable? If so, when?

 

AK: I don’t think I would use the word acceptable --- or course it’s not acceptable. It’s awful in every event. Is it sometimes necessary? Does it sometimes prevent more evil than it creates --- yes, I can imagine that scenario. I think we all can. It does not seem moral to me to preserve your own sense of righteousness at the expense of innocent lives, to stand by and do nothing while people are slaughtered and say, “Oh well, I can’t do anything because I’m a pacifist, I’m too good a person to intervene.” That’s righteousness without context --- which is no righteousness at all.

 

TRC: Early in THE LAST THING I REMEMBER, Charlie mentions one of the key tenants in his martial arts training: “Avoid rather than check; check rather than block; block rather than strike; strike rather than hurt; hurt rather than maim; maim rather than kill, for all life is precious.” This book is action-packed, but Charlie avoids killing even when defending his own life. Could you talk about the challenges and rewards of writing this kind of “muscular pacifism”?

 

AK: Well, Charlie isn’t trying to do damage, he’s trying to prevent damage from being done. But in a world where evil exists, sometimes you’ve got to duke it out, there’s just no other way. Charlie --- like American soldiers overseas --- is in the terrible, delicate position of wanting to hurt and kill as absolutely little as possible while being willing to use whatever force is necessary to stop the bad guys and get out alive. We all know that you can’t always come out of that situation without blood on your hands, so the challenge for Charlie is to do what has to be done, but no more. Sometimes it’s really tough, because in the heat of battle, when your blood is up, you want to go in for the kill.

 

TRC: One of Charlie’s biggest advantages for survival is the training --- both physical and mental --- he receives while practicing karate. Do you practice a martial art, or have a discipline that has aided you in your life in some way?

 

AK: I have a black belt in karate and, yeah, it’s a very, very helpful physical and mental discipline. You have to have a lot of discipline to be a writer to begin with. There’s no one to make you sit down at the desk and do your work, you just have to do it. But writing is such a purely imaginative experience, it’s really nice to get out and do something with your body. I also think it’s a positive experience to fight, to learn that you can get hit and not fall down and not be afraid. That said, as I get older, I fight less and less because no matter who hits whom, it’s always the old guy who gets hurt. A young guy kicks me in the ribs, I hurt my ribs. I kick him in the ribs, I hurt my foot! More and more, I concentrate on the katas and rituals and leave the fighting to the young guys.

 

TRC: Charlie places a great deal of trust in authority figures. Even when he discovers he is a wanted man and cannot go to the police, he puts his life on the line to save a government official. Many conspiracy novels engage in paranoia against the government. THE LAST THING I REMEMBER seems to be pointing in a different direction. What made you decide to go in this direction? Did this provide a challenge in constructing your novel?

 

AK: That’s a very sharp observation, you’re the first person to notice it. I did it intentionally and the reason is this: Charlie is in a perilous position where everything is open to question, everyone is suspect --- even himself. He’s essentially got to rebuild the life of faith and trust he had when he was safely at home with his parents, and he’s got to do it while people are shooting at him and trying to throw him in jail! Now evil is a truth of life --- you can’t live in denial about that. But decency and honesty are truths of life too. People who serve with honesty, who are looking to preserve liberty not encroach on it and so on --- they really do exist. I wanted Charlie to have to make difficult choices, but I wanted him to make them in a real environment of both good and evil, not a trumped-up Hollywood world of universal conspiracy, or a world created out of cynicism masquerading as sophistication.

 

TRC: One of my favorite scenes in THE LAST THING I REMEMBER is when Charlie escapes by squeezing through the passage of an underground river. Charlie faces a lot more challenges in his ordeal besides the people who are chasing him. Is there a particular event or setting that inspired this scene?

 

AK: Yes, I’ve been spelunking --- cave exploring --- three or four times and I both hated it and was fascinated by it every single time. I’m not necessarily claustrophobic, but to be in complete, utter blackness --- unimaginably complete blackness --- in a space basically the size of a kitchen drain is a challenge for me. It doesn’t come naturally. And the joy of sunlight when you first see it again after being underground! I’ve written cave scenes more than once in my career because that contrast of blackness and light, suffocation and air, crushing closeness and open space seems both too terrifying and too meaningful not to explore.

 

TRC: Charlie’s best friend is Alex Hauser, who is going through a rough patch in his life and is questioning his beliefs. I think the scene where Alex tells Charlie about his doubt may ring true for many readers. What do you recommend to young people who have lost their optimism and faith in a better future?

 

AK: Well, of course, there’s no one answer for everyone, and it’s important to know that. If you hear some expert telling you what’s right and wrong, or some music or movie star telling you what’s cool to believe, you better remember that a lot of times the thing that “everyone knows is right” isn’t right at all for you. That said, I do believe that every human heart contains its own pathway out of the darkness. I’ve seen this myself, in my own life and in the lives of others. I believe the people and things and activities you truly love are like a trail placed inside you to an even greater love, God’s love, that will restore you and give you a life of incredible abundance, more than you thought was possible. So what I would say is this: at that moment when you think, nothing’s ever going to work again, it can’t be done, the darkness goes on forever --- you have to know that’s wrong.  I’ve been there, I can promise you: It is wrong. There’s always a way back to the light. Follow the love, dude, it’ll take you home.

 

TRC: There are many unlikely heroes in THE LAST THING I REMEMBER, including Crazy Jane, a can-collecting, homeless woman who lives in an abandoned building. After Charlie defends her from an attacker, she gives him a place to stay for the night and money to be able to travel. Charlie also benefits from staying in a homeless shelter where he once volunteered. Could you tell us about a time when you unexpectedly benefited from an unlikely source?

 

AK: When I was a young man, I hoboed around the country. I once went down to New Orleans for Mardi Gras with only a few dollars in my pocket. At first, people gave me places to sleep, but in the end, I wound up sleeping on the concrete floor of the stadium at Tulane University, in doorways, in parks in the rain. I got so sick. I was burning up with fever. All I had at the end was my bus ticket home, so I staggered on the Greyhound and started back. Well, my fever got worse and worse. I couldn’t move, couldn’t wake up. I had hallucinations. Then an old man got on the bus. Black guy. Shabby, poor. Looked like he was about a hundred and six years old. He sat next to me. Wrapped me in his heavy coat. Wiped my forehead with a handkerchief. Force fed me aspirin. Finally, after what seemed like forever, the fever broke. The old man said, “You’ll be all right now, son,” and he got off the bus. To this day, I sometimes wonder if the guy was really there, or if he was an angel. But if he wasn’t an angel then, he sure is now.

 

TRC: I read somewhere that you started your writing career as a journalist. How has that informed your novels? Would you recommend this as a career for young people interested in writing?

 

AK: Journalism is great for two reasons. If you really go out and cover stories, you learn a lot about the mechanics of things --- politics, law courts, the way life works. The other thing is, you learn to write under battle conditions. Time limits, radios, televisions blaring all around you, people shouting, making conversation. In those days, there were teletypes too, so there was a constant rattling like machine gun fire. When I worked in radio news, I had to distill, say, the federal budget into a 20-second story written in about a minute and a half. It gets rid of your delicacy, any tendency you might have to play the sensitive artiste. I know so many people who tell me they want to write but they have this or that condition preventing them. After you’ve worked as a reporter, you know you can just get it done under any circumstances.

 

TRC: Many of your books have been adapted into films. Could you tell us a little about the adaptationprocess? Do you enjoy seeing your work on screen?

 

AK: You know, I like the movies, but I’m a book guy down to my toes. I’d much rather read than watch and so I care more about my books than I do about the movies of my books. For a writer, the movies have their glamorous moments. I got to meet Clint Eastwood, a culture hero of mine. I’ve walked down red carpets and so on. But frankly, down deep in my heart, I tend to think of the movie as a gigantic ad for the book!

 

TRC: What other books would you recommend to readers who enjoy THE LAST THING I REMEMBER?

 

AK: There’s a real dearth of unapologetic, muscular adventure stuff out there, in my opinion, but there’s nothing wrong with going back to the classics: TARZAN OF THE APES is still terrific, the Hornblower novels, THE THREE MUSKETEERS, Sabatini’s novels. Just remember to leave time for Charlie’s return in Book Two.

 

TRC: Are there any hints you can give us about what to expect in the next book in the series?

 

AK: Yeah, in Book Two Charlie goes home to try to clear his name --- but he has to lie low because he doesn’t want to drag his friends into danger. I found it a very moving story to write because Charlie’s basically a loving guy who just wants to go home and he’s so close --- but so far away --- and it breaks his heart.