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I started with Laf and set out to write about a marriage in trouble because only trouble is interesting, and trouble between partners especially so - there's so much history, intimacy, so much shared memory involved, so much vulnerability, so many expectations. What sets the story in motion is Laf's sense that his dreams are about to become regrets. That's what keeps him up at night. His anxiety is so intense that he is willing at first to sacrifice his marriage in order to pursue this dream of becoming a writer. He leaves his wife Martha, hurts her terribly, and throws their futures into chaos. Now I know that in fiction nothing is ever what it seems. I knew there was more to Laf's story than he was letting on. I figured I'd be startled by some revelations and supposed the story would take some turns I had not expected. Still, I assumed that something like this would happen: As a result of his struggle, a protracted and anguished one, Laf would come to understand that his place was with Martha, that he loved and needed her, that he could only reach fulfillment, artistic or otherwise, with this woman who had shared his past and loved him dearly. That was the book I thought I would write.
But then Judi Dubey, a minor character I had assumed, quite unexpectedly told Laf that she had been a thirteenth-century Saxon mystic and began to relate a fascinating story of her past life. I thought, as Laf might have: What an interesting and curious woman! Neither Laf nor I believed that Judi had lived before, but then where did these vivid and resonant details come from? And why does she need to believe this? And I thought, well, now it will be harder for Laf to get back home. He's entranced. But that will only make the story more interesting, his conflict more acute. He'll have to dig deeper, struggle harder. And his return to his wife will be all the more compelling. But then Judi discovers she has advanced cancer.
Part of the joy of writing is discovering what turns up on the page each day. You live with these people, you care about their lives, you think more about them than you do about your own family. Your job is not to judge them, and it is not to let them off the moral hook. Your job is to witness their behavior, to hold them responsible for what they do, and to render justice to their lives.
Writing fiction is a humble art. I write stories knowing that I have no answers, but lots of questions. I write about what I don't understand, hoping that in the writing, I'll come to see what I think. I'll muddle ahead to some insights, knowing that I will never really come to understanding or wisdom. As a writer this is how I make sense - try to make some small sense - of the world and my place in it. The purpose of a novel, I think, is to say this is what it's like to be a human being, and this is how it feels. Well, love is what Laf doesn't understand, so I began this particular story with Laf trying to figure it out. What is love anyway? Why do people who love each other hurt each other? And why does love, which is what sustains us, which always begins with such hope, so often fail? - John Dufresne
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Book Description Paperback. Condition: Very Good. Love Warps the Mind a Little This book is in very good condition and will be shipped within 24 hours of ordering. The cover may have some limited signs of wear but the pages are clean, intact and the spine remains undamaged. This book has clearly been well maintained and looked after thus far. Money back guarantee if you are not satisfied. See all our books here, order more than 1 book and get discounted shipping. Seller Inventory # 7719-9780099778516
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Book Description Paperback. Condition: Very Good. This book is in very good condition and will be shipped within 24 hours of ordering. The cover may have some limited signs of wear but the pages are clean, intact and the spine remains undamaged. This book has clearly been well maintained and looked after thus far. Money back guarantee if you are not satisfied. See all our books here, order more than 1 book and get discounted shipping. Seller Inventory # 6545-9780099778516
Book Description Condition: Very Good. Ships from the UK. Used book that is in excellent condition. May show signs of wear or have minor defects. Seller Inventory # 41162132-20
Book Description Paperback. Condition: Very Good. Reprint; First Printing. Some cover creases and shelf wear, some foxing to endpapers and edges of reading block. ; Nice tight copy, no names inside. Cover design by Carol Fulton. ; 320 pages; Lafayette Proulx has been kicked out by his wife of fifteen years. His mistress, Judi, temporily gives him and his dog a home in her trailer as he embarks on writing the Great American Novel. Futile marriage counselling, Judi's dysfunctional white-trash family, and a stream of rejection letters are starting to wear him down. But when Judi gets sick, Laf's life gets serious. Seller Inventory # 29090
Book Description paperback. Condition: Fair. Creasing to rear cover. Seller Inventory # FICT230216008