Today I listening to NPR, as you do, when to my delight I heard Diane Rehm talking about a new novel by Ha Jin, Nanjing Requiem. I have the book on my nightstand (the greatest thing about working at a bookstore: advanced reader's copies!) but haven't read it yet, but it's definitely next on my list now. Dr. Jin only talks a little about his writing process- he wrote the novel initially from one character's POV, but found it didn't work so he rewrote the entire novel from another character's view- and spends most of his time detailing the things that happened during the Rape of Nanking, but it's a fascinating interview from a great writer.
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2011-11-21/ha-jin-nanjing-requiem
Protip: listen to the interview instead of reading the transcript; strangely, in this case the spoken word makes much more sense than the written one, which almost never happens.
No comments:
Post a Comment