A Slender Thread (45 page)

 

Q. So, you have a sister. The relationship between two sisters lies at the heart of
A Slender Thread
. Did your relationship with your sister inspire the novel? In your mind, what makes Lacey and Margot's relationship so close and meaningful?

 

A. I am fortunate to have two sisters and I am close to both of them. I decided to tell Lacey's story from a separate point of view. At no time do we go inside Lacey's mind. Instead, I wanted the events to be told from those extremely close to her—her husband, Alex, and her sister, Margot. I think the fact that Lacey and Margot's mother was an alcoholic and mostly absent from their lives made the two sisters especially close. Margot, as the younger, turned to Lacey for love and guidance, and Lacey in many ways took on a maternal role. Lacey and Margot's family is fictional, nothing like my own, but the loving bond between sisters has been an important part of my life too.

 

 

A. Alex, probably most of all, is affected by Lacey's illness. I wanted to show the repercussions of this diagnosis within a marriage. Alex's “voice” helps to reveal Lacey, as well as what is at stake for a man and wife when faced with a devastating change.
A Slender Thread
is also Margot's story. Her reaction to Lacey's illness has an impact on her life with Oliver—in a sense a ripple effect. I felt it necessary to the story to explore Oliver's point of view. At moments he seems understanding and forgiving when Margot is pulled away, but as a normal human being, he also experiences resentment, even jealousy. When tragedy befalls a family, everyone involved feels a difference in their lives.

 

 

A. I think we all have a “Bow Lake” in our lives—whether it's a far-off vacation place or your grandmother's back porch where you went to escape now and then as a child. Bow Lake is one of those nostalgic places from our childhood when everything seemed simple and perfect. For Margot, Bow Lake was an escape. Often when we do return to a place we loved long ago, we find that it is no longer the same at all. Bow Lake represents the longing one might have for an idealized time or place. Also, when the future seems threatening, one has the tendency to look back and seek solace in what seemed like easier times. All of the characters in
A Slender Thread
feel the pull of the past—Lacey clinging to her girls and not wanting them to know the truth; Alex thinking about his childhood with Lacey and Margot; Oliver longing for his early years of artistic productivity and success; and, of course, Margot dwelling on memories of Bow Lake and the first time she fell in love.

 

 

A. I visited galleries in New York City and spoke to artists about their painting and their lives in the city. One of the great pleasures of doing any research is that you quickly learn that everyone has a story to tell. Artists are like the rest of us in that they want to pursue their dreams and do the work they love. Becoming a successful artist is difficult in today's world. Not only is the creative work challenging, but the monetary rewards are scant for most.

 

 

A. Lacey has a strong practical side to her character. Originally she chose weaving since she loved making things she could use—shawls, place mats, cloth for garments. Later, she finds joy in weaving not just for its uses but for the sheer beauty of the colors and textures. When I researched weaving, so many myths and stories fell into my lap. Weaving is one of the earliest art forms and it was dominated by women from the beginning. A woman could fit weaving in around her household chores and tending children. From ancient days people needed cloth for clothing. Eventually women wove more complex designs and depicted stories right in the cloth. The early textiles revealed myths and symbols. Think of the Bayeux Tapestry from the eleventh century, cloth that told a story to an illiterate audience. Textiles were language. For Lacey the imminent loss of language is terrifying and weaving becomes a powerful metaphor in the novel.

 

 

A. I've always loved beautiful fabrics and textiles. Over the years I've enjoyed home sewing, knitting, and needlepoint, but I have never learned to weave. While writing
A Slender Thread
I came to know Sarah Haskell, an artist in Maine. Sarah is an extraordinary weaver. In 2007 she began a project called Woven Voices; she collects positive messages from all over the world, cuts them into strips, and weaves them into Tibetan prayer flags. The flags are sent back into the world to fly and release universal words of hope. I spent an afternoon with Sarah and helped weave some of the flags. I loved learning about this project and taking part in a very small way.

 

 

A. I think every novel comes out of a question. I am drawn to characters at midlife and find myself asking what if . . . ? The story grows from there.
A Slender Thread
was the most challenging novel I've worked on so far. The questions were difficult and I had to delve deeply into the characters in search of, if not answers, at least some greater understanding. The writing itself is always hard work—requiring time and attention. With this book I found the “thinking about the story” more difficult than ever before.

 

Q. Is there anything in particular that you hope readers will take away from
A Slender Thread
?

 

A. I always hope readers come away from reading my novels with a greater understanding of what it is like to be human. We are all faced with difficulty at different times in our lives—illness, failure, disappointment. The characters in
A Slender Thread
face problems they have never encountered before. How they cope, how they move forward, and how they eventually find their way is what the book is about. In the face of difficulty we all discover inner resources we never knew we had. I read for the experience of entering other lives and other worlds, and for the pleasure of a compelling story. I hope to give that same experience to my readers.

 

 

A. One of the hardest parts of finishing a novel is wondering what I'm going to do next. It's a little like having a child grow up and leave home. Fortunately, I've already felt the pull of a new story. So much for having an empty nest!

1. What's your overall reaction to the novel? Do you connect strongly with the characters and their situation?

 

2. Have you known anyone with a degenerative, debilitating illness? How were their lives, and the lives of those around them, changed by the prognosis? In addition to big, obvious changes associated with their care, were there also subtle shifts in the interconnected relationships?

 

3. Margot suffered a disastrous first marriage, which has made her reluctant to marry again. Have you known people who rushed into marriage and then regretted it? Were there danger signs that Margot might have recognized, or does marriage always require a blind leap of faith?

 

4. Why do you think it matters to Lacey to have Margot make a commitment to Oliver? If children are not involved, do you think a marriage ceremony is necessary for a long-term loving relationship between two people?

 

5. Do you have a place like Bow Lake, which you associate with idealized times from your childhood? Has it continued to be part of your life? Have you known people in retirement who have decided to live in a vacation place where they spent time growing up?

 

6. Was your first love anything like Margot's few days with Alex at Bow Lake?

 

7. Do you think Lacey secretly knows that her husband was Margot's first love? Would it make a difference in how she feels about Margot all these many years later?

 

8. Are there points in the novel when the characters behave in ways that made you dislike them? Who and when? Are there times when you especially liked them?

 

9. What do you think of Margot's decision to return several times to Lacey's home to help out? Is Margot right or wrong to step in? Have you ever been torn between duty to your extended family and to those closer to home, including yourself?

 

10. Is
A Slender Thread
more a story about Lacey or is it more about Margot? Why? Lacey lives on a small island off the coast of New Hampshire and Margot lives on the island of Manhattan. Is there a significance to these locations? Does where the sisters live have anything to do with the way they choose to live their lives?

 

11. Discuss the importance of weaving in
A Slender Thread,
in other literature, and in the lives of women over the centuries. Remember Sleeping Beauty, who falls under an enchantment when she pricks her finger on a spinning wheel? Remember Penelope in Homer's
Odyssey
, who weaves by day and then secretly pulls apart her work at night while waiting faithfully for her husband, Odysseus, to return from his long absence?

 

13. The popularity of knitting and crafts suggests that women enjoy making beautiful things they can wear or use in their homes. Has our current reliance on electronic technology created a yearning in us for objects of beauty that we can touch, make, and admire? If you are drawn to handwork of any kind, how does it make you feel when you are doing it? Do you find it relaxing or meditative, or do you find pleasure in accomplishing something in your free time?

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