 | Adam Haslett |
Yale law student Adam Haslett meant the title of his recent short story collection, "You Are Not a Stranger Here," to be inviting to potential readers, but he never anticipated that the book -- his first -- would arouse international interest.
He was, likewise, completely shocked when a call came recently from the director of The National Book Foundation notifying him that "You Are Not a Stranger Here" was selected as one of five finalists in the fiction category for the prestigious National Book Award.
"I'm a little bowled over by it all but certainly very happy," says the 31-year-old law student, who, since the book's publication in July, has toured the country to give readings and participate in book signings.
"You Are Not a Stranger Here" has earned critical acclaim and widespread media attention, including front-page articles in the book sections of The New York Times and The Boston Globe, among other major publications. NBC's "The Today Show" stirred further interest in the book when it showcased Haslett as part of its new Book Club segment.
Haslett began writing the nine tales in "You Are Not a Stranger Here" about four years ago, around the same time he applied to law school. He deferred his admission to Yale when he received a fellowship to spend a year at the Provincetown Fine Arts Work Center. He later chose to defer admission, this time for two years, to attend the Iowa Writers' Workshop on a fellowship. By then, Haslett says he was "ready for law school."
During his second semester at Yale, however, he received the news that ultimately launched his literary career. An editor at Doubleday had read one of Haslett's stories in the magazine Zoetrope: All Story and offered to publish a collection of his works.
"To hear she wanted a book was really quite something for me," says Haslett, who took time off from Yale during the 2000-2001 academic year so he could write more stories for the collection. At that point, he had only written about two-thirds of the ones in the book.
Haslett describes writing as a painstaking activity for him. It is entirely "trial and error," he says. "I throw out far more than I ever keep." He begins by "getting into a rhythm with the language," then finding a character and a voice, and finally crafting a story, he says.
"The ideas for plots never come to me wholesale," he explains. "It's really a rather organic process."
Several of the stories in his collection portray characters with mental illness, including "Notes to My Biographer," about a 74-year-old manic-depressive father and ineffectual inventor, and "The Volunteer," about a lonely schizophrenic who befriends a high school boy who volunteers at the institution where she lives. Some critics have praised Haslett as someone who writes brilliantly about that subject, and he has even received invitations to talk about mental illness, which has surprised the law student.
"I didn't write the stories with any themes in mind," he emphasizes, "and because I have never actually sat down and read all of my stories in a row, I was not even conscious of them having any particular themes. It always seemed to me to be as far from a linked story collection as you can imagine." He points out that some of the self-contained stories depict the experiences or lives of young gay men, but says that this fact hasn't gotten as much attention.
Often asked whether his stories are autobiographical, Haslett says they are not, but that they do reflect events or feelings he has experienced. His own father, for example, was a manic-depressive, and Haslett admits that he captured some of his own reactions to that experience in his work.
His main ambition in writing the stories, Haslett says, is to create "honest and genuine" characters. While he is particularly interested in characters who are in "extreme psychic states," he says most of his creations are anguished people who are trying to reach out and connect with someone else. Haslett says his goal was to depict their struggle in a way his readers could identify with.
"As a writer I am most interested in portraying characters' interior states in a compelling way," he says. "I'm most happy when people tell me that they were moved by the characters."
Seeing his book catapult into the limelight has given Haslett "some wonderful months," he says, but he's glad he can sometimes retreat to the academic world of the law school, where he is pursuing his interests in criminal and appellate law and legal theory. He describes law and writing as appealing to opposite sides of his brain, and says that each activity is a "respite" from the other.
"When I'm writing and miserable and feeling defeated about a story I think: 'Thank God I can go back to the Law School,'" he says. "And at the Law School, I sometimes think: 'Thank goodness I can return to my writing.'"
Likewise, he says, his legal studies allow for more formal and "abstract" thinking, while writing is more of an emotional experience for him.
"The law deals with people's exterior lives, with the uniform rights that people have, whereas in my stories I am concerned with people's interior lives, with their souls," he explains.
Thus far, Haslett's new-found fame has not interfered very much with studies at the law school. However, because of frequent phone calls about his book -- including one from a Hollywood producer interested in adapting "Notes to My Biographer" to film -- Haslett says he "finally broke down and bought a cell phone." The rights to translate his book have already been sold in nine countries.
The law student says that he is not optimistic about his chances of winning the National Book Prize, noting that the honor is most often given to a novel. The other finalists for this year's prize -- all novels -- are Mark Costello's "Big If," Julia Glass' "Three Junes," Martha McPhee's "Gorgeous Lies" and Brad Watson's "The Heaven of Mercury."
Haslett and the other finalists for the National Book Award will read from their works at the New School on Nov. 19. The next day he will attend the black-tie ceremony and dinner, where the winners will be announced. Philip Roth, whom Haslett admires and who won the National Book Award in 1960 for a collection of stories, will be honored at the event.
Whether "You Are Not a Stranger Here" wins or not, Haslett says he is looking forward to the ceremony and the opportunity to be in Roth's company. If his book is not chosen, the law student says he will not be terribly disappointed.
"I recognize that in just selecting my book as a finalist, an honor has already been bestowed," Haslett comments. "[Vladimir] Nabokov was a finalist three times and never won the award. So even if I don't win, I'll be in good company."
Haslett will read from "You Are Not a Stranger Here" on Monday, Dec. 9, at 7 p.m. at the Atticus Book Store-Café, 1082 Chapel St. in New Haven.
-- By Susan Gonzalez
T H I S
Book of short stories by law student
nominated for National Book Award
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Campus Notes
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