Saturday, November 12, 2011

Pictures of You (2011): Caroline Leavitt




New York Times bestselling author Caroline Leavitt on her novel Pictures of You

Pictures of You started as an obsession. I've always been phobic about cars and even though I have my driver's license, I have never driven since I was sixteen. My novel swirls around a mysterious car crash, and how it impacts the lives of three people: Isabelle, a photographer fleeing her philandering husband who has just gotten his girlfriend pregnant; Sam, a young boy with asthma and a terrible secret; and Charlie, a husband and father who begins to realize he never really knew his wife. The novel also tells the story of April, Sam’s mother and Charlie’s wife, who is killed in the accident, and gradually, it unfolds what she was doing three hours away from home with a suitcase in the car. I also wanted to explore the question, How do we forgive the unforgivable?

Because I’m such a movieholic, Pictures of You also pays homage to film, in particular an old Elia Kazan film I adore, Splendor in the Grass. I loved the way the film ended with nothing neatly tied up, and how emotionally aching it was. I hope I’ve captured that feeling in Pictures of You.

Caroline Leavitt is the New York Times bestselling author of Pictures of You, which was also a Costco Pennie’s Pick, a San Francisco Chronicle Lit Pick, and one of the Best Books of 2011 from Bookpage and Bookmarks Magazine.

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