Jamieson Findlay, author of the recently released The Summer of Permanent Wants
(Doubleday), talks to Open Book about his writing process and the authors he admires.
Open Book: Toronto:
Tell us about your new book.
Jamieson Findlay:
The Summer of Permanent Wants is about a grandmother and granddaughter who convert a small canal boat into a floating secondhand bookstore. They sail up and down the Rideau Canal Waterway, selling books and having adventures.
OBT:
What was the most challenging part of writing this book?
JF:
The main character, eleven-year-old Emmeline, does not speak, and she knows only bits of sign language. The real challenge was to make her a vibrant character when she has such a limited ability to communicate. More than once I wondered why on earth I had chosen a non-speaking character for the lead!
OBT:
With what character (or characters) in your book do you most identify?
JF:
I identify with people on the margins, and in this book there are a lot of characters on the margins, including Emmeline herself. I also identify with the “partisan of the night,” Tenebrio, and the street magician known as The Great Zucchini, because they love darkness. “Think of it!” says Tenebrio. “The great inn of the stars, the moon soft as a bee’s wing, the hunched and olden-faced trees… and the drenching, drenching darkness! “ She’s got that right.
OBT:
For what age group are you most drawn to writing?
JF:
No particular age. There is a kind of book that can be read by both children and adults that is entertaining on many levels. That’s the kind of book I want to write.
OBT:
What recurring themes do you notice turning up in your writing?
JF:
My characters tend to be drawn to the mysterious edges of the world, as I am.
OBT:
What book did you read as a child or young adult that has stayed with you into adulthood?
JF:
Of course the books of Tolkien and C.S. Lewis have stayed with me, but also a book called The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle, which is pure charm.
OBT:
Who are some people who have deeply influenced (fellow writers or not) your writing life?
JF:
My grandfather was a novelist and short story writer, and I loved his wit, his versatility and his curiosity about the world. When I was a kid I spent a lot of time in his library. A few of the books on the floating bookstore Permanent Wants are volumes that I remember from his library.
OBT:
What are you working on now?
JF:
I am in that blissful state between books, where I am just playing around with ideas. So I’m not really working—I’m slacking off productively!
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Jamieson Findlay is a freelance writer, teacher and science journalist. He studied at Queen’s University and in Paris. Since then he has lived mostly in Toronto and now Ottawa. His non-fiction has appeared in Saturday Night and On Spec magazines. He is at work on another novel.
For more information about The Summer of Permanent Wants please visit the Doubleday website.
Buy this book at your local independent bookstore or online at Chapters/Indigo or Amazon.
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