Tuesday 8 November 2016

**BOOK GROUP WITH DEBORAH O'CONNOR**

BOOK GROUP WITH DEBORAH O'CONNOR 
"MY HUSBAND'S SON" 


My Husband's Son       Deborah O'Connor

We are delighted to welcome Deborah O’Connor to our Book Group tonight as she chats with us about her debut novel “My Husband’s Son” which was published by Bonnier Zaffre in October 2016. 

Where were we?
In our local pub with a selection of nibbles and a couple of bottles of chilled white wine (although actually this November evening was chilly enough already!).

Who was there?
A great turn out for Book Group tonight – eleven of us made it which is an absolute full house! Obviously getting the author along is a great way to ensure that everyone actually reads the book and comes along!

So, first question of the night – let’s get it out in the open straight away! – Did everyone like the book?
About two thirds of the group really liked the book. The others felt  it wasn’t that they necessarily disliked the book, but they had problems with the ending. The ending of the book seemed to divide the group quite dramatically.

Deborah:
The ending was called “morally transgressive” by one editor I approached with the manuscript! It does divide readers and my amazon reviews are either 5* or 1* - very little in between. But I like the fact it has that reaction. I like the fact that people have such strong reactions to the ending and that it stimulates such discussion and emotion.

Why does the ending divide readers?
We talked about how some people want a happy ending, with everything neatly tied up and finishing with a cosy image – this book does not do that! The epilogue is so clever – not one of the book group readers saw the ending coming at all! This itself seemed to upset some of them as they felt a bit tricked!

There was a lot of discussion about Heidi’s final choice. On the one hand, people were able to argue in favour of her decision, especially given her character, but it was also possible to argue against what she did.

One reader mentioned “The Light Between the Oceans” (absolutely stunning must-read!)which is about a family who 'find' a child and raise it as their own. They said having read that novel, they did actually respond to Heidi’s decision a little differently being able to imagine the other side of the story a little.

Deborah:
I wrote the ending first, before anything else and I barely changed a word of it throughout the entire drafting process. I love that no one sees the ending coming – even though there are hints all the way. I love that “trick” and the ending has to be this way – it’s the entire crux of the novel and I would never change it –ever! 

That brings us nicely on to talk about Heidi, the protagonist. Ah, yes, Heidi. My, what a gal! Where to start?! Do we like her? Do we dislike her? How do we feel about her?

It was unanimously agreed that Heidi is completely screwed up (the technical term used by Deborah was batshit – which was a totally new word for one of the group!).

Some of us were suspicious of her – what did we really know of her past? What had happened to her? Why was she single? How reliable was she as a narrator? Could we trust what she was telling us and how she saw things?

Is she a dedicated wife, investing everything in the search for her husband’s child or is she suffering from some kind of complicated psychological displacement syndrome? Do we sympathise with her or just dislike her? Is she vulnerable or devious?

Oh, it seems we mostly disliked her……

Deborah:
That’s fine! This is a woman completely on the edge. She has nothing to live for. She’s on complete self destruct. Her behaviour is reckless, selfless, dangerous. She is like the main female protagonist in the TV show “The Affair” – she just does not care about herself at all; she is not nurtured, has no self esteem and is extremely fragile. Self destructive is the best word to describe her.

Did Deborah like Heidi?
She's mad, absolutely crazy. I feel sorry for her. She has a really displaced desire to find her own child. She's fallible, she's flawed and her use of control is perverse. I like that about her. 

While we're on the topic of characters - Deborah, which character came to you first? Did you always want both Jason and Heidi to have 'stolen' children? Was that always the premise? 

I was reading Grazia one lunch time and there was an article about JonBenet Ramsey, the American Beauty Queen who was found murdered in her home in 1996. There was a long investigation but the case remains open today still unsolved. Following the death of Jonbenet's mother Patsy to cancer a few years later, John Ramsey then met Beth Holloway -whose daughter Natalee disappeared in 2005- at a Fundraising event. I was intrigued by this relationship. Although when they met they had a shared experience,  John's daughter was dead but Natalee could still be alive. And what if she returned? Could things could be the same? I just started to think about a relationship formed through these circumstances and it intrigued me.  

Which leads us on to talk about Jason and Heidi. What did we make of their relationship? Was it authentic? Plausible? Happy? 

We all felt it was a very fragile relationship. Some people felt that actually Jason was not that likeable and not that upfront or supportive with Heidi. He keeps things hidden from her. He's lied to her as well.

Perhaps, one reader suggested, it is better to have someone and some  kind of relationship than nothing at all and be totally alone in your heartache? If this is all Heidi can sustain, if this is the only kind of relationship she can really ever have with someone, is it better than nothing? 

It's a great contrast with Vicky and Jason who seem to be very at ease and natural with each other -even with what they have experienced and the fact their relationship eventually disintegrated. Heidi and Jason do not have that ease and very natural familiarity. 

Deborah:
Heidi and Jason's relationship is conditional. It is fragile. Heidi is not secure. She doesn't know if this man will still love her if she puts on weight or if small things change. It's an exhausting relationship. But people who have been involved in a trauma together do form very deep bonds and so it is realistic for them to be together.

Vicky is Jason's first love and they had a child together - something Heidi and Jason do not have. Heidi is always trying to assert her control over Jason and show her ownership of him - even when it's a little perverted.

One of the other relationship in the book is between the Family Liaison Officer and Vicky. How realistic is that?

Deborah:
I have a real policeman who helps me with all these aspects of the book and he said although it's not officially allowed, it's very common. FLO's move into your house, your whole life, at a point when you are very vulnerable and going through an extremely intense time. It's perhaps inevitable that you develop a close relationship with the person who has helped and supported you - probably carried you - through the such a tough and very intimate time in your life. 

Had this policeman ever experienced a story like the one in this novel? What did he make of your book?

No, he hadn't experienced anything quite like this story but he did have lots of experience of dealing with abducted children or children 'kidnaped' and sent abroad. And yes, He really liked the book! 

Deborah told us a little bit about Book 2 and Book 3 (hopefully Book 2 arriving in the new year...) which also both have 'twists'. Does she think she'll get a reputation for writing psychological thrillers with twists and would she be happy with this?

I love books that have an amazing twist that really stuns you and makes you go back and reread the last chapter or the whole book - twists that really take your breath away- but they are very hard to write effectively. The best book with that kind of twist for me is "Fingersmith" by Sarah Waters. But I'm not sure I can be clever enough to pull that off repeatedly as it takes a lot of skill (*cough* we think you are highly skilled Deb!*cough*). Also then you run the danger of people 'looking' for a twist and trying to guess it which takes away from the plot, characters and writing. My next book is perhaps has more conventional reveals than one big twist. 

One thing that came up in conversation was Deborah's choice of title for her second book as the publisher is proposing a change to her current working title. Can she tell us a bit more about this?

"My Husband's Son" was initially called "Cold Child Drowning" which refers to a child's resilience when in trauma. When drowning in freezing waters a child's body will shut down completely allowing them to survive and 'come back to life' again after four minutes. (Apologies Deb if that information is misquoted at all - I was too busy listening to scribble properly) Jason holds on to this fact as it offers him a symbol of hope; when all looks bleak it is possible for a child to come back from the dead. This is his talisman and when it is disputed he cannot handle the fact that it might not be true as he cannot face being without hope. This is his 'fable'. So the phrase was important to me because of this metaphor. But the publishers thought it was too clever so I generated a list of 20 titles and "My Husband's Son" was the one we chose instead. 

One reader said that they don't always like it when a book's title is a phrase from the novel because when you come across it in the story it can be a little disheartening. You discover it, realise what it means but you still have half the book to go.... 

Generally everyone agreed they preferred "My Husband's Son" as a title as it sounded intriguing and also not quite right - it makes you read it twice as it's not a 'normal' phrase used by a mother / wife. 

Deborah:
Although I am heavily involved in the book title and will fight for the one I want, I am less invested with the book cover. In fact book covers are more to do with what the supermarkets think will sell. The designer has to consider where the price / deal sticker will go, how it will look on a shelf, making sure the author / title will show from the shelf etc. Supermarkets have the real power in some of these decisions as they generate so many book sales. 

Should there be a sequel to "My Husband's Son"?

No! How could there be? It's all 'done'. And the characters are not likeable enough for people want to read more about them! 

Deborah:
Agree! It's a stand alone novel, definitely.

Final question - just for Deborah! Do you have any rituals while you are writing?

  • Chocolate! Lots and lots of it! 
  • I also have a soundtrack that I'll listen to over and over and over again. It doesn't really matter what the soundtrack is, I just choose something and then it has to be that music every time I write!
  • I have a special type of pencil -which is very expensive! I do love stationery! 
  • I struggle to write in the summer; I'm better in the winter, wrapped up in jumpers, cosy and with the fire on! It's too depressing to be indoors when the weather is good! 


If you liked "My Husband's Son"Deborah recommends:

To Watch: 

  • The Affair
  • The Amanda Knox Documentary 
  • The Imposter (Documentary about a person claiming to be long lost child) 
  • The Usual Suspects 

To Read:

  • Fingersmith by Sarah Waters
  • In the Cut by Susanna Moore 


Thanks so much to Deborah for joining us! The conversation was so interesting and everyone had so many questions, comments and opinions! We could have chatted all night! We are very grateful for Deborah giving up her Monday evening, bracing the cold weather and travelling out to meet us despite the appalling train service that evening! It was really generous of her and very much appreciated! 

This is definitely a book which will generate a conversation. It is very thought provoking. It makes a fantastic Book Group read because of the themes, issues, characters and choices tackled in the story. 

This is a must read - add it to your To Be Read pile! 

Tonight The Good Book Group joined the First Monday Book Group who meet in Harpenden at someone's house or in the pub on the first Monday of each month (give or take a few over holiday times). It is made up of women who all met at the preschool gate and through toddler group networks. The group has been meeting for about 6 years and still retains at least 7 founding members.


They choose books a month in advance, usually by people just suggesting a few titles they’d like to read, a bit of Google research to check page length (not too long please) and availability (not too expensive and no hardbacks please) and then a straw pole. After lengthy holidays people may just bring along what was their favourite read for a kind of book swap. 

For further questions, ideas and quizzes to help generate a discussion about "My Husband's Son" please see the post Good Book Group Guide: My Husband's Son http://thegoodbookgroup.blogspot.com/2016/11/my-husbands-son-good-book-group-guide.html

For more recommendations, reviews, questions, ideas and author interviews for Book Groups please follow The Good Book Group on Twitter or Facebook  @goodbookuk 

If you live near Harpenden, Hertfordshire then check out details of The Good Book Group's Event: Criminally Good Books on Jan 18th 2017. Please see the Twitter page or Facebook page for further details or to book tickets. 

Will your Book Group read "My Husband's Son"? Have you already read it? What did you think? Please leave a comment, we'd love to hear from you! 

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