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But she misunderstood my question! Ok, last night I stayed in Berkeley after work, at first trying (in vain) to find a pattern from the 1300's at Lacis (the furthest back they had was 1500's), then driving up to Telegraph where I found not-too-bad a parking spot (which, for Telegraph in Berk, is very good). I ate at Smart Alecs, where the college kids running the counter had the barest minimum of manners, making me feel old and crotchety. Isabelle Allende was reading down the street at Cody's at 7:30, so about 6:20 I headed up there. I managed to get a seat in the second row, mainly because I was by myself and an hour early. Fifteen minutes later, it was standing room only, and the room became increasingly hotter for the next 45 minutes until she read. Allende is a small, fiery woman, very attractive and articulate. She told us it was her first stop on this tour, and asked us to be kind. "I'm always terrified no one will show up." Her reading of the English translation of her new novel, _Daughter of Fortune_ was ok - I could tell before she answered someone's question on it that those were not her words. Words she wrote herself - like the speech beforehand - flowed much more easily and seemed less likely to be mispronounced. Ok, before I tell you about my question, I'm going to share a few random quotes from Allende that I jotted down: (on how to write novels)"...you don't need good people in a novel...people with good sense don't belong in novels" (on being prescribed prozac and therapy after her daughter Paula died)"...only in America do we think we can avoid pain..." "...I can write about almost anything...except sports" "...lust and gluttony are the only sins that are worth it..." (while adjusting her microphone so people in the back could hear)"...I hate these phallic microphones...you can't get it up, or close enough..." (on why she only writes fiction in Spanish)"...fiction is like making love...I can't pant in English!" "...in English, the words of love sound suspicious...Spanish has words for love that don't sound sleazy." (on writing)"...you don't control it...it echoes your own life" "characters return" (on what she learned from the death of her daughter)"...despair makes you let go of everything you had of her...her grace, beauty, talent etc....and all I had was the love that I gave her...all we have is what we give...let go of the bullshit...be free, be light" I had a question for her about halfway through the Q&A session, and, though I jotted it down ahead of time, she misunderstood me and answered a different question. When I was speaking, it sounded to me like it was someone else's voice, but when I thought that, I immediately got nervous that I would suddenly stop talking...y'know, assume it was someone else and forget that I had to finish my sentences. I think I was surprised at how loud and confident my voice sounded; that wasn't at all how I felt! What I asked: "I notice that some of your earlier books - House of the Spirits and Eva Luna - have elements of Magical Realism in them, but your more recent ones do not. Do you find less inspiration for Magical Realism in your surroundings in American culture than you did in Latin America?" What she answered: (I'm not doing any quoting here...I was too busy blushing to take notes). She went off on how she had been too often pigeon holed as a Magical Realism writer, when only three of her books had any elements of Magical Realism in them. I had thought, before I asked the question, that maybe no one had brought up those two words because they're a trigger, and I think I wasn't too far off. After she had done her best to dispel the myth I was not accusing her of, she asked me to clarify my question. By that time I could feel the heat of my embarassment warming those around me, and I stuttered something about "any inspiration in America for Magical Realism?" at which she went off on another long rant about people in Marin County taking their pets to therapy and massage and how California is the weirdest place she's been and there's all sorts of odd influences around here..."angels! There are angels ALL OVER Marin County, but we must not have them in Chile because no one sees them down there." I'm not dissing her, I was just too nervous to clarify myself after the initial answer. Everyone laughed a lot at her descriptions of Northern California, so I was glad we got her perspective on this area. She's been living up there for 10 years or so...Still, it was one of those times I really wished I could sit and talk to her for awhile...find out the real answer to my actual question. I didn't chat with her when she signed my book - the line was still very long behind me and I had waited almost an hour. I had her sign a copy of _Aphrodite_ (I thought it appropriate, considering I'm getting my "start" in erotica). I'm inspired, of course. That's why I went, to meet the woman whose words have forced me to put the book down to cry ("Of Love and Shadows"). Her advice on dealing with pain, the way her eyes welled up with tears when she spoke of Paula, and the way she described her writing process all made me feel a bit more... well, it all gave me hope, for myself as a writer and for the condition of the human spirit. I wanted her to be real, and she was. | ||
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