Book Review and Author Interview: Nothing But Ghosts by Beth Kephart

After the death of her mother, Katie takes a summer gardening job at the estate of town recluse Miss Martine who hasn’t been seen outside since she was 16. Katie herself is burdened with grief, but she has to wonder what kind of tragedy would make you voluntarily disappear from life. With the help of two brothers and a glamorous librarian, Katie begins to decode the mystery and gain the strength to go on.

“Things disappear and vanish. That’s a fact. Before you’re ready for them to go, they go, and after that all you can do is keep the idea of them bright inside yourself.” p 80 ARC (may not reflect final published version)

I admit, ever since the death of my own mother when I was 19, I tend to shy away from books where the mother is recently deceased or dying. I’m just always afraid they’ll be too depressing, too sad to handle. But Beth has done a beautiful thing here – she takes us to the truth of what it’s like to deal with loss (the too-big house that feels empty, the withdrawing from friends, the keeping busy to dull the pain) and then lets her characters (and her readers) find comfort and a renewed sense of purpose.

The story elements, the well-drawn characters (Katie’s father, chic Ms. McDermott, and estate caretaker Old Olson were favorites), and spare, lyrical writing all contribute to making this a genuinely affecting reading experience. In fact, as far as books about grief go, I’d rate it up there with Kate DiCamillo’s THE TIGER RISING.

Beth will be doing a chat/reading/party at My Friend Amy’s blog on Tuesday June 30th at 9 PM EST. By attending or buying the book and sending in your receipt, you are entered into a massive contest with great prizes including amazon gift cards and a customized header by soon to be published illustrator Daniel Jennewein (IS YOUR BUFFALO READY FOR KINDERGARTEN? Balzer and Bray/HarperCollins July 2010). Attending AND buying the book (which is out now in hardcover) will get you two entries.

Not only that, but Beth agreed to an interview (lucky me!) right here on Presenting Lenore. Let’s begin shall we?

Nothing But Ghosts is dedicated to the memory of your mother. Are there pieces of her in the narrative? Is there something of hers that you hold on to that keeps her memory alive?

My mother’s life, her qualities, her passions, her sudden, unexpected passing were hers alone, and I did not try to recreate them in Claire, Katie’s mother. It is the loss that Katie feels that is so true to my own life, and also all those things that occurred in the wake of my mother’s dying that assured me that the spirit of my mother remained—that she was near, not utterly vanished. A goldfinch would knock against my office window, repeatedly, and I sensed my mother near. A song would play in a nearly empty restaurant, and there she was. A warm breeze would kick up on a winter day, and I knew. My mother’s final words were for me, and I hold onto those. She said, in the very end, “I love you.” That was for me. That is what I will always have. Yes, my mother was a great gift giver, and all around my home are things she left to me. Her favorite painting hangs above my head as I work. But it’s those words that matter most, those words that I had yearned to hear.

Katie’s father throws himself into cooking after the death of his wife. Is cooking cathartic for you as well?

Cooking is cathartic for me. Absolutely. So is gardening, so is dance, so is photography, and so, of course, is writing. But Katie’s dad throws himself into cooking because my mom was the world’s best cook, and I worried deeply about my dad after she was gone. I cooked a lot for him, and I still do. But how would he take care of himself? How would he enjoy a meal again? My concern for my own dad is Katie’s concern for hers. My dad doesn’t cook yet, but in creating a character who finds his way, I was, in some small way, trying to heal my own dad’s future.

Katie recalls details from a family trip to Barcelona and refers to an ancient underground Roman city. Does this really exist? Is it open to the public? (I am going to Barcelona next week!)

Oh, gosh, you are going to Barcelona? Yes. This exists. The Barcelona and Portugal scenes come directly from my own life and travels. You’ll find this in the old city, easily marked, very central. Go down below. Tell me what you see when you return. I can’t wait to hear.

How do you balance writing novels, writing for your company, and writing your blog? What do you see as the perks/downsides of each?

I’m always out of balance, I think. I work on the blog and the novels early in the morning (except for when my UK client company calls, which can happen from about 5 AM on). I work on the business throughout the day. When there’s a break in the business, I go back to the blogging. There’s always a book on my desk that I’m reading as well. The business and the blogging keep me in touch with the greater world (not to mention, the business pays the bills for our small household and the blogging makes me happy). The writing keeps me in touch with me. I am often frustrated by my patchwork days and feeling as if I have not gotten enough done, or not enough done well. But I am grateful for a life that puts me on so many paths and forces me to use different parts of my mind. I’ve met people I value in all aspects of my life—CEOs and presidents who dream big, bloggers full of heart and soul, writers and editors and readers who demand more.

How many works in progress do you have going at any one time? How do you know when one has potential and when one just needs to be scrapped?

Hmmm. Well, typically I have one book in progress and one in revision and then a lot of books somewhere in my office that failed overall, but that have pieces to which I wish to return. I never measure the commercial potential of a book, though of course I should. I measure the quality of its song, the depth of its meaning, the authenticity of its characters. I have, for example, been writing a book that takes place in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War for years and years. I thought I had it, this past spring. When I looked at it again, I realized that the pacing is off in places and that some story lines have been left thin. That’s not something you just go in and fix. It is something that you let stew. Probably next spring I’ll go back and see what I might do, see if I can write that book right, after all this time.

It’s always a question. I have spent many years on books that simply just don’t work. But then I’ll find a piece — the Cascais piece in Nothing but Ghosts, for example — that can and should be adapted to a new use. The same thing holds true for the poems I write. A line of a failed poem can become the beginning of a successful story.

What's up next for you?

Next March, my fourth book with HarperTeen, The Heart is Not a Size, will be released; this tells the story of a group of teens on a mission trip to Juarez and touches on issues — anxiety, eating disorders — that have pressed down upon my own life. Next fall, with Egmont, I am publishing an historical novel about Centennial Philadelphia—it’s a very exciting book for me, a five-year effort, a new kind of writing. At the moment I am writing a novel for adults. And someday I hope to return to Seville. After that, the future is wide open.

Thanks Beth!