Friday 21 June 2013
This year I attended an event at
the Belfast Book Festival which ran from 10th - 16th June. It was the first time I'd attended such an event and
had hoped to attend more of the Festival but work commitments meant the only event
I was able to go to was a reading by John Boyne, of his new book ‘This House is
Haunted’. There subsequently followed an interview with John Boyne and a book
signing.
When I arrived at the venue -
The Crescent Arts Centre, I was pleasantly surprised to be lead into a large
room with a stage at the front and lots of round tables with black tablecloths
and candles. I wasn't sure if I was walking into a book reading or a séance!
The atmosphere was fab and perfect for a reading from a ghost story. The event
was attended by people of all ages from young kids who were obviously huge fans
of John Boyne's children's books, to older adults. It was great to sit and have
a chat with fellow book lovers before the reading began.
When John Boyne came onto the
stage he began to read an excerpt from the new book. The book is essentially a
ghost story and is narrated by a governess, Eliza Caine. The year is 1867. The
extract that was read was when Eliza meets, for the first time, the two
children who are to be in her charge. The reading certainly piqued my interest
in the book as I adore a good atmospheric ghost story.
After the reading came an
interview with Hugh Odling Smee, who is himself a writer and theatre producer. So,
just what did I, a reader and blogger discover about the book, Mr Boyne himself
and the writing process. With Eliza, John Boyne had wanted to create a strong
female character, and the story to be told from a female perspective. It is the
first time he has written a book this way and he wanted Eliza to be
strong-willed and brave. Eliza is essentially a Feminist before Feminism itself
became a strong movement. She is described as 'a modern.'
A lot of John Boyne’s children’s
books have child characters who are enduring some form of difficulty or
hardship. John Boyne himself did not have a difficult childhood. He talked
about how it was in fact a great childhood but he is interested in how early
childhood experiences can ultimately shape us and how we overcome them.
The interview then turned to how
John Boyne writes his books and how he structures his writing. He discussed how
he used to have set plots but doesn't tend to do that so much now since he
wrote ‘The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas’. He now starts with a general idea /
character / theme and simply writes, seeing where the story will take him. As
he went on to explain, he feels that he can use this style of writing and plot
development as he is now more confident as a writer. When he is close to
finishing a book he starts to get his idea for the next book and never seems to
take time off from writing. Does John Boyne get writers block or get ‘stuck in
a rut’ like some writers do? This was one of the questions posed by an audience
member. He replied by saying that he must be very disciplined and write every
day. This is certainly what I am hearing from a lot of the writers that I
interview for the blog. It’s obviously good advice. He went on to say that he certainly
doesn't believe in being struck by inspiration but remains focused on the story
he is working on.
Given that the new book is a
ghost story we were treated to the writers own experiences and he told the
audience a great 'true' ghost story about not just one ghost but an entire pub-full
of ghosts. Only in Ireland would the ghosts be enjoying a Guinness! He went on
to discuss how he likes ghost stories because he likes being scared and had
always wanted to write a good ghost story himself. He always knew that his
ghost story would be called ‘This House is Haunted.’ There was further
discussion later on in the evening around book titles. A member of the audience
enquired as to how he got the ideas for his titles and whether they evolved
further along the writing process. He discussed how his latest book ‘Stay Where
You are and Then Leave’ came about after he visited Christchurch in New Zealand
which unfortunately experienced a serious earthquake a few years ago. He read a
safety advice notice about what to do in the event of an earthquake – Stay where
you are and then leave! This was apparently a ‘light bulb moment’ for him. He
went on to discuss how his biggest regret was the title that he eventually
settled on for his book 'Mutiny on The Bounty'. The original title was ‘Bligh and
I’ but he was convinced by his publisher to change it.
In order to carry out research
for his novels John Boyne tries to read books written in the particular era
that his own book will be set. He feels that this is the best way to gain a
true sense of language and etiquette of a particular era rather than reading
about it in history books or books written about an era in history. In ‘This
House is Haunted’, there is a theme of class divide and of the hierarchy even
within the classes. John Boyne is a huge Charles Dicken's fan and has read his
books many times over. After reading all of Dickens’s 'orphan' books he became
obsessed with orphans and boarding schools. He discussed how he would love to
see children today read more Dickens but feels that the format of such books
puts children off a little.
No-one could of course forget
John Boyne's acclaimed book ‘The Boy in The Striped Pyjamas’. He was asked if
he was worried whether through the film adaptation of his book, the emotions of
the characters and their experiences would be conveyed properly. He said that
he didn't give it too much thought and essentially doesn't set out to write a
book that he hopes will be adapted. However, at the moment a screen play is
being written for his book ‘The Absolutionist’. Despite his books being set in
countries all over the world, he hasn't yet written any set in Ireland. His
next book will be!
Another question posed to him
was around what we can, as readers expect next from him. Well, he has a
children’s book due for release soon – 'Stay where You are and Then Leave' which
is due to be released on 26th September. He is in the process of
writing an adult’s book at the moment which is the book due to be set in Ireland
and he is a little nervous about that and whether he will be able to convey and
represent the area, the place he grew up, properly.
I found John Boyne to be an
extremely interesting and pleasant person and really enjoyed my first experience
of such a literary event. Afterwards there was the opportunity to purchase some
of his books and he very kindly signed them for me. I was a bit star struck and
did stumble a bit when he asked how I spelled my name! The man must think I am
a total idiot!
Ha, I love the ghosts enjoying a Guinness! Interesting account, thanks, JB :)
I loved the film, Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. Note to myself - must read the book! Great write up, JB
WOW, what a fab session to attend JB. Sounds like you had an amazing time. Makes you want to go to all the literary festies doesn't it!
x
Thanks guys. Yes you are right Shaz. I now want to attend EVERYTHING! lol