Interview with Eleanor Bluestein

Today I’m so thrilled to share with you a Q&A interview with Eleanor Bluestein, author of the great Tea and Other Ayama Na Tales.  I loved the book and enjoyed the insights shared by Ms. Bluestein.  I hope you do too.

The Bluestocking Society: I’m having trouble classifying Tea and Other Ayama Na Tales as a novel or as a collection of short stories. In fact, I kind of love that it crosses into both forms.

Eleanor Bluestein: Thank you, Jessica, for this comment and for the opportunity to answer your questions. I just Googled “linked short stories.” Bam! The category exists. Maybe that’s what this hybrid is.

TBS: How did you come to write these stories about one place?

EB: There was some trial and error involved. South East Asia was the setting I had in mind from the start, but early in the writing process I didn’t specify the countries. As the stories piled up, the evasion didn’t wear well. When I settled on the fictional country of Ayama Na, I described it at first in footnotes—that didn’t quite work either. Nor did a trial of cross-pollinating characters. Ultimately, I felt the stories benefited from being set in one country. They seemed to acquire a resonance as different characters coped with problems resulting from a shared history and culture.

TBS: Ayama Na is fictional but it is clearly based, at least in part, on reality. Why did you decide to use a fictional country rather than a real one?

EB: I’d lived in France for a year, and by the end of the year, it was clear to me that I’d barely scratched the surface of the culture. Yet, here I was, after spending brief periods as a tourist in Singapore, Viet Nam, Thailand, and Cambodia, writing from the point of view of South East Asian characters. My motivation was empathy but I worried about being (and being considered) presumptuous. With a fictional country, the issue more or less vanished.

TBS: On a related note, why did you choose to place Ayama Na in South East Asia? Do you have personal experiences in such a country? What kind of research did you do about things like post-war economy and hill tribes?

EB: What I’d seen on my trips, especially in Cambodia, impressed me. This was a nation recovering from a terrible internal war and at the same time coping with a dizzyingly rapid pace of modernization. I wanted to try to imagine what that felt like. In these travels, excellent guides provided background information and explanations. In Thailand, I visited hill tribes, using that setting for “A Ruined World,” and parts of “North of the Faro.” I’d read about the wandering monks of Thailand and about Buddhism in general and that reading informed many of the stories, especially “Tea.” As I needed specific information, I did research about the history, human rights issues, and governments in the region, focusing especially on Cambodia. I also did research to learn about narrow topics like ventriloquism and palm reading.

TBS: I loved the sheer range of the stories you tell in this collection. What led you to situations, characters, and settings as diverse as McDonalds, a robotic dog, a beauty pageant, a tour guide, and a fortune teller?

EB: Thanks! Serendipitous encounters inspired some stories. I saw AIBO, the robot dog, demonstrated at a local mall in San Diego. In Singapore, I met a savvy fortune teller who became the physical model for the psychic in “North of the Faro.” An artist I knew who’d been jailed for painting in public spaces inspired “The Artist’s Story.” Some stories grew from a desire to write about a particular topic—a beauty pageant, a playwright, a decision to be virtuous. I’m hard-pressed to explain the genesis of other stories—Hamburger School, for example (set in McDonald’s) and “Tea,” the title story set in that strangely mystical café. The unconscious at work, I suppose.

TBS: I can’t possibly select a favorite story, but I really liked the progression of “North of the Faro.” It had a feel of magical realism to it for me. In addition to toeing the short story/novel line, did you consciously play with genres?

EB: I’ve read and I greatly admire writers like Marquez, Borges, and Allende. I love that “North of the Faro” gives you the feeling of magical realism. In “North of the Faro” and “Tea” (another story readers have told me has that feel), I felt a bit as if I’d waved a magic wand to make things turn out well. But I didn’t consciously play with the genre. I can and would wish to explain the magic away—that’s the science teacher in me.

TBS: Your background is scientific, and this book is obviously not. What led you to fiction? Have you written other fiction works?

EB: This is such a cliché, but really it is a case of art helping you get through life’s ups and downs. I’ve been writing fiction for years. Thanks to computers, my unpublished novels aren’t stacked up in drawers. They hang out in document files, talking among themselves.

TBS: Will you tell us a little bit about your writing habits? Are you a nocturnal writer? Do you have any superstitious writing protocols (do you have to wear a flannel shirt or twirl in a circle ten times before sitting down)?

EB: I’d like to write every day. I don’t manage to, but I make an effort because if too long an interval elapses, writing fiction begins to feel as impossible as flying. As for superstitions or protocols, I don’t have any, but I think I could use a few—like turning off e-mail or putting a lock on the snack cabinet.

TBS: Who are your favorite authors? Which are your favorite books?

EB: I avidly await new fiction by Phillip Roth, Cynthia Ozick, and Haruki Murakami. I read, enjoy and learn from many additional authors. Often my favorite book is the last great one I’ve finished. Right now, that’s Marilynne Robinson’s Home. I have a special place in my heart for Jane Austen. I’ve read Emma many times and Pride and Prejudice many many times—I find these books consoling. There are those wonderful moments when a character matures right before your eyes. It’s stunning every time.

TBS: What do you do outside of the world of books?

EB: I volunteer as a Court Appointed Special Advocate for foster children—the CASA program. In summer I grow a vegetable garden. I jog on the beach year round. (My husband and I live in La Jolla, CA–lucky us.) Laundry, grocery shopping, worrying, cooking dinner….

TBS: What future literary projects are up your sleeve?

EB: I’m working on a novel about a thirty-something vinyl repairman trying to figure out how to live a good life. Not vinyl as in records; vinyl as in sofas and chairs.

TBS: Thank you so much, Eleanor!  It was a pleasure to read your book and an even greater pleasure to do this interview with you.  I look forward to your future work.

GIVEAWAY WINNER.  The winner of a copy of Tea and Other Ayama Na Stories is Joy @ Thoughts of Joy. Congratulations, Joy, and thanks to everyone who entered!

Related posts:

1. Tea and Other Ayama Na Tales, by Eleanor Bluestein
2. Interview with Kamilla Reid
3. Interview with Frank Warren

Tagged as: Blog Tours, Giveaways, Interviews