Posted on 08/11/2011 6:56:26 AM PDT by flowerplough
Novelist Tony Earley has found success in writing about “folks who are simply doing the best they can”.
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You have described Jim the Boy and The Blue Star as "children's literature for adults."
So much of contemporary life is dark, nihilistic, hopeless. Reading contemporary fiction, one gets the idea that all children are abused, all marriages are bad, all people are in danger of being murdered in their beds. I know life is horrible at times, I get that. I have experienced it firsthand. But I like to focus on the folks who simply are doing the best they can. I wanted to honor these people.
Also, a lot of contemporary literature is so ironic. With Jim the Boy I decided to throw irony out of the toolbox. Irony followed to its natural conclusion precludes belief in anything. The ironic writer writes from a standpoint that presupposes the meaninglessness of everything. For example, he or she presupposes that all human institutions are stupid. That is at the heart of irony. And don't get me wrong, there is a great deal of stupidity and cruelty in the world. But I don't think that is the final word. Writing would be worthless if transformation was not possible.
How did you develop such a clear and concise style?
Hemingway and Cather as models. Hemingway was so talented. I admire him so much for his craft, though he was a pretty awful human being. I like the difficulty of doing something complicated with a simple sentence. I like the technical challenge of trying to say something without saying something. I like art with spare lines, Matisse, Picasso, Hank Williams. What is simpler, or more complicated, than a Hank Williams song?
Jim the Boy has been a critical success. How has that affected you?
The summer of Jim the Boy was remarkable: reviews, awards, crowds. I was hailed as the next big thing. At the end of the summer, Sarah and I pulled into the driveway after our last big trip. She looked around and said, "The grass needs mowing." And I came within a fingernail of saying, "Don't you know who I am!" But this tiny little voice, the last bit of sanity within me said, "You probably shouldn't say that, Tony." So . . . I unpacked the car and mowed the grass."
I just put both novels on my library reserve list. I figured they’d have a North Carolina author in stock.
I got the second one on CD, since my 14-year-old son often hangs around the kitchen listening to recorded books with me.
I have’nt read these, but I will. May I suggest Robert Ruark’s titles, “The old man and the boy” and “The old mans boy grows older”.
They are autobiographical and tell of growing up in North Carolina in the 20’s. He lived at his grandfather’s house during summers. His grandfather was a hunter and fisherman.
They are suitable for children but I read them as an adult and enjoyed them thoroughly.
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