Nine Books About Your Life:

Interview by Nicholas Alexander Hayes

In our Nine Books About Your Life series, authors are invited to talk about nine types of books that have had an impact on their lives. Their responses give us a glimpse into their relationships with their books and other people’s books. In the first installment of 2021, we speak with Amanda Marbais, author of Claiming a Body (Moon City Press).

First Book – When I was seven, I read my older sister’s copy of The Hobbit, but struggled with large sections of it. I still feel nostalgic about it. In middle school, I read her Stephen King novels and the Flowers in the Attic series. But, the first book I remember finding on my own was Jane Eyre when I was fifteen. Of course, it was a book I believed I was supposed to read. Then, it turned out, I loved it. I immediately read Wuthering Heights. I think all these choices have deeply contributed to my attraction to tone and setting.

The Hobbit
J. R. R. Tolkien
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN: 978-0547928227

Jane Eyre
Charlotte Bronte
Bantam Classics
ISBN: 978-0553211405

Wuthering Heights
Emily Bronte
Bantam Classics
ISBN: 978-0553212587

Most Cherished Book – In our living room, we have a copy of Codex Serafinianus, an encyclopedia of an imaginary world, by Luigi Serafini. The visual narratives are playful and unexpected. When I first met my spouse, he was writing a series of poems based on the images, which were scarce online. So I bought it for him. Now I enjoy flipping through it with my four-year-old.

Codex Serafinianus
Luigi Serafini
Rizzoli
ISBN: 978-0847842131

Most Perplexing Book – Gravity’s Rainbow baffles me. A decade ago, I joined a book club, and we decided to read it. No one finished. Maybe I would feel differently about it now.

Gravity’s Rainbow
Thomas Pynchon
Bantam Books
ISBN: 978-0553147612

Life-changing Book – I have two different answers for this. I feel like Anna Karenina changed me as a person, not because of Anna’s storyline, but because of Levin’s. I was twenty-one when I read it, and Levin’s character evolved to appreciate both solitude and independence of thought. I can still relate to that. But also, there was a lot of discussion of labor and equitable wages, and that was all new (and compelling) to me. Later in life, I read The Secret History. I frequently return to Highsmith and Tartt to appreciate how characterization can drive a tense and spellbinding plot.

Anna Karenina
Leo Tolstoy (trans. Rosamund Bartlett)
Oxford University Press
ISBN: 978-0198748847

The Secret History
Alfred A Knopf
Donna Tartt
ISBN: 978-1400031702

Most Underrated Book – I think Djuna Barnes needs more broad praise for Nightwood. I don’t think she’s the Modernist most readers reach for. It’s unfortunate. Her novel effectively challenges common ideas of narrative, religion, and sex.

Nightwood
Djuna Barnes
New Directions
ISBN: 978-0811216715

A Surprising Book – When I was in high school, I loved the Clan of the Cave Bear series. I still remember it fondly. This would likely surprise my friends, because it doesn’t dovetail with books I recommend today. It also doesn’t match my interests as a writer. Yet, it has left me with a recurring fascination with Mastodons.

Clan of the Cave Bear
Bantam Books
Jane M. Auel
ISBN: 978-0553250428

Your Most Recent Book – In 2019, Moon City Press published my collection of short stories, Claiming a Body. The bulk of those stories were written over six years, so they cover a lot of styles and approaches. Going back to this book, would be like reentering a former period in my life, with all the accompanying complex feelings.

Claiming a Body
Amanda Marbais
Moon City Press
ISBN: 978-0913785669

Your Next Book – I’m working on a novel that has elements of noir but is probably better classified as a thriller. Writing during the pandemic is a challenge. I don’t have the same time or resources. Still, I enjoy disappearing into the story for a couple hours a day. No one needs to wear a mask in this novel (not a literal mask anyway).

Plug a Book – False Bingo was one of my favorite books of 2019. Jemc’s stories have such complex (sometimes problematic) characters. And, the narratives move in such unexpected ways. It’s best to just dive in and follow wherever she leads.

False Bingo
Jac Jemc
MCD x FSG Originals
ISBN: 978-0374538354