Meet the shortlist: Christine Piper
After Darkness is one of the six books included on our inaugural Readings New Australian Writing Award shortlist. Here we ask Christine Piper five quick questions.
If you were opening your own bookshop, what are three titles that would always be kept on your shelves?
Pastoralia by George Saunders, because Saunders is a genius who writes like no one else. His dystopian, quasi-science fiction stories are funny, weird, heartbreaking and impossible to explain. ‘You just have to read it for yourself,’ I’d say.
The Secret History by Donna Tartt, because it’s a page-turner and everyone I’ve recommended it to has loved it. The chilling characters of this ‘whydunnit’ murder mystery makes it hard to put down.
The Eleventh Hour by Graeme Base, because the illustrations are beautiful, the story enchanting and the buried clues intriguing. Every family should own it.
What’s the strangest piece of advice you’ve ever been given as a writer? (And did it work?)
Write what you know is a common piece of advice doled out to beginner writers, and it’s extremely limiting. One of the joys of writing is having an excuse to deeply research subjects beyond one’s ken. I never thought I’d spend weeks reading military security dossiers about Japanese-Australians in the 1940s, or interview civilian activists about Japan’s conflicted war memory, but they were fascinating and rewarding experiences.
So instead of writing what you know, I’d say: Write about what interests you, and what you’d like to know more about. The short stories I’ve written that draw heavily on my personal experience tend to feel flat. Personal experience can be a great starting point, but it shouldn’t dictate the narrative.
Do you remember the first book that made you want to be a writer?
No single book made me want to become a writer. I always enjoyed losing myself in a good book, and writing came naturally. So I went into journalism, but soon found that 98% of what I wrote and read at work didn’t interest me. Writing fiction was a way to explore topics I was passionate about.
Do you listen to music while you write? Why or why not?
No, I do it in complete silence; I need to be able to hear the characters’ voices in my head. In fact, I always write while wearing either noise-cancelling headphones or earplugs – sometimes both if I really need to concentrate. But it’s a habit I’m trying to break – I’m wary of becoming the clichéd neurotic writer.
If After Darkness were made into a film, who would you like to see in the starring role?
Japanese actor Eita (Nagayama – although he goes by only his first name, à la Madonna) has the integrity and vulnerability to convincingly portray Dr Ibaraki. Plus, Eita previously played a young physician in 2009’s Dear Doctor. But I’d also be open to casting a newcomer.
