“A Gentleman in Moscow” Author Amor Towles Discusses His New Short Stories

>>> NEXT, THE POWER OF EVERYDAY ENCOUNTERS.

HAVE YOU EVER NOTICED HOW SOME OF THE BRIEFEST EXCHANGES CAN GIVE BIRTH TO LIFE-CHANGING REALITIES?

BEST-SELLING NOVELIST A MORE TOLL CERTAINLY DID.

HIS OBSERVATIONS INSPIRED HIS NEW BOOK, TABLE FOR 2, A COLLECTION OF SHORT STORIES AND A NOVELLA SET IN THE YEAR 2000.

HE JOINS US TO REFLECT ON THE WORK IN HIS CAREER SO FAR.

>> THANK YOU, WELCOME TO THE SHOW.

>> WALTER, THANKS FOR HAVING ME.

IT'S A PLEASURE TO BE HERE.

>> YOUR COLLECTION NOW, "TABLE FOR TWO," HAS A GROUP OF SHORT STORIES, THEN A NOVELLA TO IT.

IT IS CALLED "TABLE FOR TWO," WHICH CONFUSED ME AT FIRST.

THEN I REALIZED, ONE THEME, THERE IS A WHOLE LOT OF TWO- PERSON ALMOST LIKE KITCHEN TABLE CONVERSATIONS.

IS THAT THE THEME OF THE BOOK?

>> IT'S INTERESTING.

WHEN I FINISHED THE MANUSCRIPT, IT HAD NO TITLE.

I WAS PREPARING TO SEND IT IN.

I NEEDED A TITLE.

I JUST SPENT A YEAR READING THE MATERIAL.

IT'S THE SAME YOU DO WITH YOUR WORK.

YOU READ IT OVER AND OVER.

I SUDDENLY RECOGNIZED IN TWO DIFFERENT STORIES THERE WAS A MOTHER AND DAUGHTER SITTING ACROSS THE KITCHEN TABLE HAVING A SERIOUS CONVERSATION THAT HAS BIG IMPLICATIONS FOR THEIR LIVES.

IN THE NEXT STORY, THERE WAS A YOUNG MAN WHO HAD GOTTEN IN TROUBLE WITH A STRANGER AND HAD BEEN INVITED TO THE STRANGER'S HOUSE, AND AN OLDER MAN, THEY WERE HAVING A SERIOUS CONVERSATION WITH APPLICATION FOR THEIR LIVES.

I THOUGHT, THAT WAS INTERESTING.

THEN I REALIZED IT WAS ALL IN THE STORIES.

THEY WERE WRITTEN IN THE PAST 10 YEARS.

SOMETHING MUST HAVE BEEN SUBCONSCIOUSLY ON MY MIND ABOUT HOW WE, IN OUR LIVES, CAN HAVE A SMALL THING THAT OCCURS THAT ULTIMATELY -- WE MIGHT HAVE TO HASH OUT FACE-TO-FACE IN WAYS THAT COULD HAVE IMPLICATIONS FOR OUR LIVES.

YES, THAT TURNED OUT TO BE AN UNDERLYING THEME FOR THE STORY.

THAT'S WHY CHANGED THE TITLE AS SUCH.

>> IN YOUR STORY, THE LINE, IT'S ABOUT A CHARACTER WHO, HIS STRENGTH IN LINE IS, HE KNOWS HOW TO STAND IN LINE.

>> YES.

>> YET, IN THE END OR IN THE MIDDLE, HE GOES TO THIS MYSTERIOUS LINE WHICH IS CALLED THE AGENCY OF EX-PATRIOT AFFAIRS.

HE IS DOING IT FOR SOMEBODY ELSE, I THINK, IN THE STORY.

BUT HE BECOMES AN EX-PATRIOT.

WHAT WAS THAT ABOUT?

WAS THAT SORT OF A COSCO THING OF ESCAPE?

IS IT A FANTASY?

>> IT IS KAFKAESQUE, THAT STORY.

AND IT IS SOMEWHAT OF A FAIRYTALE.

THERE IS SOME DARK HUMOR BUILT INTO IT.

IT SPRINGS FROM WHEN I WAS WRITING IN MOSCOW.

THERE IS A MOMENT WHERE THE CHARACTER RETURNS FROM DOING TIME IN PRISON.

HE IS CYNICALLY VIEWING MUSH -- RUSSIA IN THE 30s OR THE 50s.

HE IS OBSERVING LINES HAVE BECOME A WAY OF LIFE.

HE IS MAKING A DARK OBSERVATION.

WHEN I WAS WRITING THAT PASSAGE, I THOUGHT TO MYSELF, OH, WOULDN'T IT BE INTERESTING IF YOU HAD SOMEBODY, THEY WEREN'T GOOD AT ANYTHING IN LIFE, BUT THEY WERE REALLY GOOD AT STANDING IN LINE, THESE LINES THAT ARE ALL OVER RUSSIA?

THAT'S WHERE THE SHORT STORY CAME FROM.

WHEN I FINISHED THAT, THE FIRST THING I DID WAS WRITE THAT STORY.

SO, IT IS ABOUT THE LIFE OF AN INNOCENT, OPEN-MINDED PERSON, BUT IN A DIFFICULT TIME WHO FINDS EXPERTISE IN AN UNUSUAL THING.

>> AND HIS EXPERTISE, STANDING IN LINE, WE ARE TALKING ABOUT "TABLE FOR TWO,", IT IS CONTRASTED TO THAT OF HIS WIFE WHO IS AN EXTRAORDINARY ACTIVIST, JUST ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE WE KIND OF KNOW WHO FINDS A CAUSE AND EMBRACES IT.

WAS THAT A PARTICULAR CONTRAST YOU WERE TRYING TO DRAW?

>> I THINK SO.

THAT POINTS TO A DIFFERENT THING IN THE COLLECTION.

A FRIEND OF MINE OBSERVED THIS.

THESE ARE ALL ABOUT MARRIAGE.

I'M LIKE, THAT IS INTERESTING.

YOU ARE RIGHT.

A LOT OF THE STORIES ARE ABOUT HUSBANDS AND WIVES.

I THINK AS A WRITER, I'M ALWAYS INTERESTED WHEN YOU LEAVE ONE PROJECT INSTEAD OF EXPLORING A DIFFERENT AREA OF HUMAN LIFE BECAUSE IT FORCES ME TO WRITE IN A DIFFERENT WAY.

AND IF I LOOK BACK OVER MY CATALOG AS IT WERE, ONE IS ABOUT 25-YEAR-OLDS IN NEW YORK.

THIS IS ABOUT AN AGING ARISTOCRAT AND THE FRENZY MAKES IN A HOTEL.

A DIFFERENT ONE IS ABOUT 18- YEAR-OLDS.

I'M NOT REALLY IN THOSE WORKS, EXPLORING MARRIAGE.

WAS WRITING THESE SHORT STORIES, IT MUST'VE BEEN A SUGAR -- SUBCONSCIOUSLY ABOUT TURNING BACK ON THIS RELATIONSHIP WHICH IS SO IMPORTANT IN OUR DAILY LIVES, MARRIAGE, WHETHER WE ARE CHILDREN OR SPOUSES, AND IT EXPLORES THE SUBTLETIES OF MARRIAGE, THE DIFFICULTIES THAT CAN ARRIVE, THE ENDEARMENTS THAT CAN EXIST, THE BOND, WHEN IT IS STRONG AND WEAK, YOU KNOW, IT'S AN AREA OF ENDLESS INQUIRY.

>> ONE OF THE GREATEST STORIES IN THE BOOK IS THE BALLOT THE -- BALLAD OF TIMOTHY TOUCH IT.

IN EVERY CHARACTER I HAVE WRITTEN ABOUT IN MY NONFICTION BIOGRAPHIES, THEY HAVE HAD SORT OF MISFIT AS CHILDHOODS.

WHETHER IT WAS LEONARDO GROWING UP IN THE VILLAGE OF VAN SHE, ALL THE WAY UP TO ELON MUSK, AND I WANT TO REDO A LONG PASSAGE IN THE BOOK.

IF YOU WILL BE PATIENT, IT'S A WONDERFUL PASSAGE.

IT'S ABOUT THE QUESTION OF NOT BEING A MISFIT, AND WHETHER YOU LOSE CREATIVITY IF YOU AREN'T A MISFIT.

YOU WRITE, WOULD IT CAUSE TIMOTHY TO DELAY THE START OF HIS NOVEL?

HE WAS WANTING TO WRITE A NOVEL.

IT WAS A FIERCE, DARK AND DISTURBING -- IT COULD BARELY HOLD KNOWLEDGE.

THE FEELING HE HAD NO STORY TO TELL.

CONSIDER THE LIVES OF SOME OF THESE HEROES.

FAULKNER CAME OF AGE IN THE JIM CROW SOUTH, A TIME WHERE IT HAD ITS OWN IDIOSYNCRATIC LANGUAGE.

HEMINGWAY WAS A JOURNALIST WHO DROVE AN AMBULANCE IN THE FIRST WORLD WAR BEFORE HUNTING LIONS IN THE AFRICAN SAVANNA.

AND DOSTOEVSKY GREW UP IN SIBERIA.

YOU GO ON BY THAT.

HOW CAN ONE CRAFT A NOVEL WHEN THE GREATEST INCONVENIENCE INCLUDED MOWING THE LAWN IN THE SPRING AND THE SHOVELING OF SNOW IN THE WINTER?

WHY TIMOTHY'S PARENTS HAD NOT BOTHERED TO SUCCUMB TO ALCOHOLISM OR DIVORCE?

FIRST OF ALL, TELL ME.

DO YOU THINK HAVING A COMPLEX AND DIFFICULT CHILDHOOD ADDS TO CREATIVITY, AND I GUESS I WILL FOLLOW UP BY SAYING, AND HOW WAS YOUR CHILDHOOD?

>> YEAH.

THAT IS IRONICALLY BIOGRAPHICAL, THE EXPLORATION OF THAT PASSAGE.

I DID NOT HAVE A LIFE THAT WAS OF THE KIND THAT FAULKNER EXPERIENCED IN HIS YOUTH, OR CERTAINLY DOSTOEVSKY'S EXPERIENCE IN HIS YOUTH.

AS A YOUNG READER, YOU LOOK AT THESE GIANTS IN LITERATURE.

YOU THINK, OH MY GOD, WHAT AN EXTRAORDINARY EXPERIENCE THEY TRANSLATED TO THIS WORK.

I THINK, YES, AS A YOUNG WRITER, YOU'RE IN SUBURBIA, I'M BEGINNING TO DOUBT -- OH MY GOD, WHAT AM I GOING TO WRITE ABOUT?

YOU KNOW?

IT'S A LITTLE TONGUE-IN-CHEEK.

I DO THINK WE ALL HAVE THE CAPACITY TO TELL INTRICATE STORIES THROUGH OBSERVATION, THROUGH EXPLORATION OF OUR OWN FEELINGS, THROUGH THE CONVERSATIONS WE HAVE WITH STRANGERS.

WE CAN ACCESS HUMANITY AT A LEVEL THAT CAN ALLOW US TO BUILD GREAT NARRATIVES REGARDLESS OF OUR PATHS.

IT IS A WINKING SORT OF PICTURE OF MYSELF ABOUT ANXIETY I HAD AS A YOUNG MAN.

I'M KIND OF OVER IT NOW.

I'M KIND OF GLAD I DID NOT HAVE TO GO THROUGH WHAT THEY WENT THROUGH IN ORDER TO WRITE A BEST-SELLING BOOK.

>> WHEN YOU WERE AT THE NEW ORLEANS BOOK FESTIVAL, YOU WERE TALKING WITH YOUR FRIEND MICHAEL LEWIS.

YOU WERE TALKING WITH HIM AS HE HAD BEEN, BEING IN FINANCE FOR A LONG TIME.

BEING IN THE WALL STREET BANKING TYPE.

AND YOU, IT SEEMS, WERE SAVED BY PETER MATHESON.

TELL ME THAT.

>> YEAH.

PETER WAS A GREAT AMERICAN BOTH A WRITER OF NATIONAL HISTORY, NATIONAL TOPICS, BUT ALSO A NOVELIST.

HE CAME TO YELL -- YALE WHEN I WAS AN UNDERGRADUATE.

I GOT A FRIENDSHIP AND MENTOR SHIP.

I DID HAVE A DIVERGENCE.

I SPENT 20 YEARS IN THE INVESTMENT BUSINESS.

AND IT REALLY HISSED HIM OFF.

HE SAID, I SPENT TIME ENCOURAGING YOU, AND YOU WORKED IN WALL STREET?

EVENTUALLY HE SAID, LISTEN, I THINK YOUR TIME IN WALL STREET IS GOING TO RUIN YOUR CAREER.

I THINK YOU WILL NEVER BE AN ARTIST.

OVER DINNER ONE NIGHT, THAT BECAME FOR ME THAT JACOB MARLEY, YOU KNOW, SHAKING HIS CHAINS AT SCROOGE.

LETTING HIM KNOW WHAT STATE AHEAD IF HE STAYED ON THE SAME TRACK.

AT ONE POINT, PETER GAVE ME GIFTS AS A YOUNG WRITER, ACKNOWLEDGING OR EXPERIENCING I MIGHT HAVE TALENT.

HE GAVE ME THE SECOND GIFT IN LIFE WHICH IS TO SAY, IF YOU DON'T PURSUE YOUR CRAFT, YOU WILL END UP, I THINK, DISAPPOINTED WITH YOURSELF.

SO, I BEGAN TO WRITE ON THE WEEKENDS WHEN RULES OF CIVILITY BECAME A BESTSELLER I RETIRED FROM THE FIRM.

THERE'S A LONG ROAD TO IT.

THE BIGGEST THING IS, IT WAS A ROAD I HAD TO TAKE.

>> WHEN YOU ARE CONCEIVING THE NOVEL PERHAPS ONE OF THESE SHORT STORIES IN , "TABLE FOR TWO,", DO YOU INDOOR A SENSE OF PLACE, OR DO YOU CONCEIVE THE CHARACTERS FIRST, OR DO YOU CONCEIVE THE POT FIRST?

>> FOR ME, STORIES TEND TO START WITH A VERY SIMPLE PREMISE.

LIKE, I DID -- I WAS IN A HOTEL.

I THOUGHT, OH, ONE YEAR IN GENEVA, WHAT WOULD IT BE LIKE TO BE TRAPPED IN A HOTEL FOR A LONG PERIOD OF TIME?

THAT'S THE BEGINNING OF A GENTLEMAN IN MOSCOW.

WHEN I HAVE AN IDEA LIKE THAT, I TEND TO QUICKLY -- I REALIZE THAT IS AN INTERESTING STORY.

I TEND TO SEE THINGS VERY QUICKLY THAT ARE THE BASICS.

RIGHT AWAY I WAS LIKE, IT COULD BE IN RUSSIA.

HE COULD BE AN ARISTOCRAT SENTENCED TO HOUSE ARREST IN A FANCY HOTEL NEAR THE KREMLIN.

THE STORY CAN SPAN FROM THE REVOLUTION OF THE COLD WAR.

ALL OF THAT I KNEW IN A MATTER OF MINUTES.

WHAT YOU DESCRIBE, YOU START TO BUILD UP THE IDEA OVER TIME.

I WILL SPEND A COUPLE YEARS DESIGNING A BOOK WHERE I WILL TRY TO IMAGINE EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS, ALL THE SETTINGS, THE PEOPLE AND THEIR BACKGROUNDS, THE PSYCHOLOGY, FILLING NOTEBOOKS BY HAND AS I IN ESSENCE BUILD A WORLD.

IT IS NOT IN AN ORDER.

IT'S NOT THE ORDER YOU ARE DOING.

YOU ARE BUILDING EACH ELEMENT OF IT SIDE-BY-SIDE.

YOU GET A LITTLE BETTER SENSE OF THE PLACE, BETTER SENSE OF THE PEOPLE, BETTER SENSE OF WHAT HAPPENS, THEN YOU GOT TO START AGAIN AND ADVANCE, THEN ADVANCE.

THEN SLOWLY, YOU KNOW, BUILD THIS WORLD.

ONE OF THE WORLD CLEARLY, THEN I, YOU KNOW, BUILD AN OUTLINE AND START TO WRITE THE CHAPTER.

>> YOUR CHARACTERS ARE SO WILDLY DIFFERENT.

YOU TALK ABOUT THE RUSSIAN ARISTOCRATIC MAN IN GENTLEMAN IN MOSCOW.

BUT THERE IS A WORKING-CLASS WOMAN FROM BROOKLYN IN ONE OF YOUR STORIES, A FARM BOY FROM NEBRASKA.

HOW DO YOU GET IN THE HEADS OF SUCH DIFFERENT PEOPLE?

>> I AM IN THAT SCHOOL.

I WAS RAISED IN THE NOTION THAT TO MASTER MY CRAFT, YOU WOULD WRITE SHORT STORIES FROM AS MANY DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES AS POSSIBLE, TAKING ON DIFFERENT LIVES.

BY DOING SO, RATHER THAN RISK WRITING ABOUT MY EXPERIENCES, LET'S SAY, BECAUSE BY WRITING ABOUT DIFFERENT PEOPLE, IT FORCES ME OR ANY YOUNG WRITER TO TRY TO IMAGINE WHAT IT WOULD LIKE TO BE IN THAT SITUATION, WHAT WOULD BE MY VOCABULARY?

HOW WOULD BE MY MORALS?

HOW WOULD I DESCRIBE A SITUATION THAT I STEPPED INTO IF I WAS AN 18-YEAR-OLD WOMAN IN BERKELEY IN THE 60s VERSUS, YOU KNOW, A VIETNAMESE VIOLIN REPAIRMAN IN THE 19th CENTURY?

THEY WOULD SEE THE WORLD DIFFERENTLY.

THEY WOULD TALK ABOUT THE WORLD DIFFERENTLY.

SO, YOU TEACH YOURSELF THROUGH SHORT STORIES TAKEN FROM DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES HOW TO LOOK AT THE WORLD SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT FROM ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE.

AND THEN, OVER TIME, IT STARTS TO BECOME SECOND NATURE.

NOW WHEN I AM CREATING A NOVEL, ALL MY CHARACTERS ARE INVENTED.

IT'S A NATURAL PROCESS FOR ME TO INVENT THEM ONE BY ONE BY ONE AFTER SORT OF DECADES OF TRAINING MYSELF TO IMAGINE THE WORLD IN NARRATIVE THROUGH THE EYES OF OTHERS.

>> ONE OF THE COMPLEX THINGS IS, TO ME, HOW YOU CHOOSE NARRATORS IN YOUR STORY.

SOMETIMES IN OUR MISSION, THEY KNOW THE STORY.

SOMETIMES THEY ARE PART OF THE ACTION.

SOMETIMES THEY ARE LIKE NICK CARRAWAY IN THE GREAT GATSBY, OBSERVING THINGS.

HOW DO YOU CHOOSE NARRATOR STYLES?

>> IT'S AN EXCELLENT QUESTION.

I THINK ABOUT SHORT STORIES, NOVELS, EITHER ONE, THE WHOLE PROCESS OF INVENTION, DECIDING WHO THE NARRATOR IS IS THE MOST DIFFICULT DECISION AND THE MOST INTERESTING DECISION I WILL MAKE.

CHECKING OUT WHERE IT HAPPENS, WHEN IT HAPPENS, WHAT HAPPENS, WHO IS IN THE STORY, THESE ARE ALL IMPORTANT DECISIONS, BUT NOTHING COMPARED TO WHO IS GOING TO TELL THE STORY.

AND IT COULD BE, AS YOU SAY, THE OMNISCIENT NARRATOR UP HERE WHO KNOWS ALL.

IT COULD BE SOMEBODY WHO IS RELATED TO THE MAIN CHARACTER, YOU KNOW, IT COULD BE A SPOUSE.

IT COULD BE A STRANGER OBSERVING THE EVENTS, IT COULD BE THE MAIN CHARACTER, HIS OR HERSELF, TELLING IT IN FIRST PERSON.

AND ONCE I KIND OF KNOW WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN, WHEN'S GONNA HAPPEN, WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN, THEY ARE GOING TO START GOING THROUGH DIFFERENT ALTERNATIVES TO TRY TO FEEL, WHERE IS THE STORY?

WHERE DOES IT BELONG?

WHO SHOULD BE TELLING IT, AND IN WHAT TONE?

I MAY TRY IT IN MY HEAD OR WRITING IN DIFFERENT WAYS UNTIL SUDDENLY YOU SAY, OH YEAH, THIS IS IT.

THIS IS THE PERSON WHO SHOULD TELL IT.

HERE IS SORT OF AN INTERESTING THING I THINK ABOUT "TABLE FOR TWO," THAT READERS CAN LOOK AT OR CONSIDER.

SIX STORIES IN NEW YORK ARE LAID OUT IN SUCH A WAY THAT YOU MOVE FROM THE MOTION -- MOST OMNISCIENT NEIGHBOR, HE KNOWS THE NAME, THE FIRST TWO STORIES, THEN YOU GET SOME STORIES WHERE THE PERSON IS AN OBSERVER.

IT'S -- IT'S THEIR SPOUSE WHO IS INVOLVED IN THE CIRCUMSTANCE.

IF THEIR FATHER INVOLVED IN THE CIRCUMSTANCE.

THEN YOU GET STORIES WERE IT'S THE INDIVIDUAL TALKING ABOUT WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO THEMSELVES.

AS YOU READ THE STORIES, YOU'RE KIND OF MOVING FROM WAY UP HERE DOWN TO A CLOSER AND CLOSER PROXIMITY.

THAT IS -- IT'S A VERY DIFFERENT TYPE OF STORYTELLING.

THE READER MAY ENJOY GOING THROUGH THAT EXPERIENCE OF HOW THE SHIFT IN ORIENTATION CHANGES THE WAY THE STORY UNFOLDS.

>> YOUR STORY, EVE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD, IT SORT OF SPRINGS OUT OF YOUR RULES OF CIVILITY NOVEL, EVE, THE CHARACTER.

HAVE YOU THOUGHT ABOUT GOING BACK TO A GENTLEMAN IN MOSCOW OR OTHER THINGS ARE DOING THAT?

>> I THINK GENTLEMAN IN MOSCOW ENDS IN A BEAUTIFULLY DEFINITIVE WAY FOR ME.

IT IS HOLISTIC.

THE LINCOLN HIGHWAY IS SOMETHING I WOULD CONSIDER RETURNING TO, BILLY AND SALLY AT THE END OF THAT STORY, THE BEGINNING OF SOMETHING SORT OF A GREAT NEW ADVENTURE AS IT WERE, THE ADVENTURE OF ADULTHOOD, I GUESS, AND ALSO, YOU KNOW, GOING OFF TO CALIFORNIA.

I CAN IMAGINE BEING DRAWN BACK INTO THAT -- TELLING THAT STORY, PROBABLY NOT IN THE NEXT COUPLE YEARS BUT MAYBE A DECADE FROM NOW.

>> YOU KNOW, READING YOUR NOVELS, TO ME, IT IS MY PERSONAL BEST REASON WE SHOULD READ NOVELS.

TELL ME IN YOUR WORDS, WHY SHOULD WE READ NOVELS?

>> I THINK, READING NOVELS PROVIDE -- ONE THING THEY PROVIDE, WE WILL DISCUSS IN A SECOND.

THE NOVEL IS PRETTY UNIQUE FOR ME IN TERMS OF THE ARTS IN THAT IT CAN PLACE US IN THE POSITION OF ANOTHER HUMAN BEING.

AND IT CAN DO IT SO POWERFULLY THAT WE, AS READERS, SOMETHING IN THE MAIN CHARACTER WE ARE REALLY EMBEDDED IN THE STORY, SOMETHING FUNNY HAPPENS TO THE CHARACTER, WE LAUGH OUT LOUD WHAT WE ARE READING.

IF SOMETHING TRAGIC HAPPENS, WE MAY SHOULD TEARS AS WE ARE READING.

WHEN THE CHARACTER HAS A VICTORY, A MINOR VICTORY, WE FEEL -- YOU KNOW?

WHEN SOMETHING MEAN IS DONE TO THEM, WE FEEL INDIGNANT.

YOU KNOW?

WE START TO SEE THE WORLD TO SOME DEGREE.

WE CAN SEE THE WORLD FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF A CHARACTER WHO WE HAVE BECOME INTERESTED IN.

SO, THE NOVEL HAS A UNIQUE WAY -- I DON'T THINK THE FILMS DO ANY OF THIS.

I DON'T THINK NONFICTION ACHIEVES THIS IN THE SAME WAY, THIS IDEA OF SORT OF GIVING YOURSELF OVER TO THE CHARACTER AND SEEING THE WORLD AS IT UNFOLDS TO THEM, BUT TAKING IT VERY PERSONALLY.

THAT OPENS THE DOOR TO THIS EXTRAORDINARY DYNAMIC WHERE OBVIOUSLY, EMPATHY GROWS OUT OF THAT, WE SUDDENLY CAN TAKE THE FEELINGS OF OTHERS MORE SERIOUSLY, OUR ABILITY TO MANAGE OURSELVES AND EXPERIENCES WE HAVE NOT HAD WHICH ADDS TO BOTH EMPATHY AND ADVENTURE AND CURIOSITY UNFOLDS -- YOU KNOW, THIS IS REALLY THE GREAT POWER OF THE NOVEL.

IT CAN ALLOW US TO ENTER THE WORLD FROM NEW ANGLES TO SEE EXPERIENCES WE HAVE NOT WITNESSED OURSELVES, TO IMAGINE THEM IN A VERY PERSONAL WAY IN A WAY THAT OPENS BOTH OUR HEART AND OUR MIND.

>> THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US.

>> WALTER, IT IS GREAT TO BE HERE.

IT IS GREAT TO SEE YOU.