| Penelope Lively |
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| Thank you to Penelope Lively for doing this Q & A at such short notice. If you would like to read a fuller interview with Penelope Lively, go to the Interview Online |
| What gave you the idea for the story of FAMILY ALBUM? |
| No single thing. Thoughts about the dynamic of families, the ways in which each of us remembers family life differently. |
| The novel is, as the title suggests, a series of snapshots of a family, taken by various members at different times. Memory and the past seem to be key subjects in your books. What is it that intrigues you about this theme? |
| A subject of endless interest - I've tried to explore it in various ways in novels like THE PHOTOGRAPH and MOON TIGER. |
| ‘Silent speech hangs in the air’ at Allersmeade: so much remains unsaid. Do you feel that the contract of silence that often exists within a family or a relationship is necessarily destructive? |
| Definitely not. If everything thought was said the results would be disastrous. |
| We love the fact of Charles, the distant father, writing a book about ‘concepts of youth, of the young.’ Is there a bit of a dig at the vicarious life of the novelist there? |
| That's a nice idea, but I'm not sure it was in my head when writing of Charles. |
| You began writing comparatively late. What made you want to start writing at that point in your life? |
| For me, I think reading turned into writing. Not all obsessive readers feel the need to write, but some do, and I was one. And I had no idea how difficult it was. |
| What would you recommend as a really good read for a book group? |
| THE STORY OF LUCY GAULT by William Trevor or CROW LAKE by Mary Lawson. |
| Who or what are your inspirations, literary or otherwise? |
| Too many to list. Almost everything I've read. |
| Can we ask what you are working on now? |
| A novel. |
| Penelope Lively |
