Sarah Manguso, 50, has written nine books, including poetry, nonfiction, short stories and novels. Her memoirs are particularly noteworthy The two types of decay (2008) reports on her battle against a rare autoimmune disease and its strict treatment. Another important work, Continuity: The end of a diary (2015) deals with her obsessive diary keeping and was awarded a “recommendation” by the editors of the New York Times Book Review. 300 arguments (2017), a collection of aphorisms about desire and failure, was hailed by numerous publications as one of the best books of the year. Her novel Very cold people (2022), was a finalist for the PEN/Jean Stein Prize. Her new novel, Liarexamines the dissolution of a marriage. Manguso is originally from Massachusetts and now lives in Los Angeles.
LiarYour second novel was not the book you expected to write… My next book was going to be a period drama set in New England in the 1940s, exploring the nuanced and painful story of who became “white” in America and after how many generations. The inspiration came when I discovered that my parents, although they looked white, were not initially counted as white on the census. I am the first in my family to be born white.
What was your family heritage? My mother’s family is Ashkenazi Jewish; my father’s father, although a foundling, was raised Italian, and his mother was an Irish immigrant. Teddy Roosevelt once said that Southern and Eastern Europeans could count as white on the census after three generations in America, which I thought was crazy. The history of racial classification in America is complex, and I wanted to write about it in a novel. In November 2020, however, my spouse left me abruptly and without warning. Three or four days later, I started writing, and eventually Liar was created.
I don’t think I was really keen to identify myself as a literary author; I was embarrassed by the whole thing.
You mentioned that Liar is fiction, except for the parts that are true. Did you have any concerns about writing something so personal? My biggest concern was that my son wouldn’t grow up and find unwanted details about our family on the Internet. When his father left, my son was eight years old and knew his father had cheated on me. Other than that, I didn’t want to add anything to the Internet. As a novelist, I had the freedom to write anything. If I had chosen to write it as an autobiography, I don’t think I would have felt the least bit free.
You described the book as “a place where you can express your anger.” Were you surprised by the reaction of the women who recognized themselves in this story? I checked the Goodreads page for reader reactions, something I haven’t done with my other books. It was both validating and terrifying. Hundreds of readers could relate to the experiences described in the book in the first week of release and said it reflected what many women go through. It was eye-opening to see that I seemed to have touched on a common cultural sore spot.
Your books span various genres: poetry, memoirs, essays, fiction. How do you define yourself as an author? Or not? I used to say I was an editor, that was my main job. I wasn’t particularly keen on calling myself a literary writer, I was embarrassed. People might think it’s strange if you publish books in different genres, but once you’ve published ten books, it shows that you’re exploring different facets of writing.
What are you working on next? It is an erotic novel about aging, obsession and freedom.
Is the historical novel still falling by the wayside? That’s a good question. My editor recently asked me if my next book will be the one they buy and I had to say no. But I promise to create something beautiful. I have no idea if I’ll ever write that novel, but I never really know what I’m going to write until I start.
Which book did you first fall in love with? An old edition of Grimm’s and Andersen’s fairy tales. Half of the book was made up of fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm; when I turned it over, Andersen’s appeared. It now stands in my son’s room.
These are dark stories for a child. Has that influenced your work? No, growing up in New England gave me a healthy acceptance of the Gothic.
Which author do you think is most unfairly underrated? I’m tempted to say “all women,” but especially Colette. She’s underrated by English-speaking readers because her name sounds diminutive.
Which modern authors do you read the most? I especially love Claire Kilroy, Myriam Gurba, Patricia Lockwood and my good friend Sheila Heti.
Source: The Guardian
