Q&A with Kate Banks
Q: Your new novel, FRIENDS OF THE HEART / AMICI DEL CUORE, is set in modern-day Italy. By setting the book outside of the United States, were you consciously trying to "broaden horizons" for your readers? Why did you choose this locale for the book?
A: I wasn't trying consciously to broaden readers' horizons. To begin with, I married an Italian and lived in Rome for nine years-they were the early years of my writing and the years in which I had children. My creative years, so to speak. Though I live in France I continue to spend much of my time in Italy. For me Italy is a sensory place where people's feelings are very much at the surface. It's also a beautiful place with an abundance of nature and spirit. Even its ruins have a haunting power that continues to breathe life into the present. Rome has a particularly rich history as a turning point of civilization. In many ways we are all connected to that-American or Italian or otherwise. In other words, this is our collective heritage. And in that sense, the setting of the story is common to us all. Still, in a larger sense the true setting of this story is Lucrezia's heart. Though she is Italian, I'm sure her feelings are shared by us all.
Q: Like FRIENDS OF THE HEART, your previous novels (DILLON DILLON and WALK SOFTLY, RACHEL) have also dealt with the pain of separation, loss, and loneliness-how are you so able to capture the complexity of these emotions and situations?
A: My ability to capture the complexity of emotions like loss, separation and loneliness has to do with the fact that my life has been marked by these. My parents both died young. I lost a close childhood friend to leukemia, and then my best friend, a year out of college, died of an asthma attack. I think death in young people full of life and promise is always heartbreaking and frightening, as is the journey toward acceptance and release for those left living. When you lose people you love, you inevitably lose some of yourself and there is a very real risk of love and feeling becoming an enemy. For me the ability to continue to love and feel, as hard as that is, was how I managed. As for separation and loneliness, moving to a foreign country is bound to produce those feelings. To reap the rewards, and there have been many for me, one has to really explore those feelings and reflect.
Q: Karen Hesse said of DILLON DILLON, "This is a book to be experienced with all the senses." The same may be said of FRIENDS OF THE HEART-it invites readers to fully experience life at the Italian seaside, as you convey the tactile and sensory details of the setting, capturing the romance and atmosphere of the town, engaging the reader's senses. Have you lived somewhere similar to the town portrayed in the book? How do you research the cultural and geographical details that you convey so vividly?
A: The locale of the story is taken from a place I know well. A place where I have passed many precious moments with dear friends and family, a place that will remain in my heart forever. I still do most of my research through books, though I use the Internet for sources. For this book, much of the research was taken from personal experience.
Q: FRIENDS OF THE HEART depicts the strong female/male relationship between two thirteen year-old friends, Lucrezia and Ollie. Did a personal friendship inspire you to create these characters? And how are you so able to capture the nuances of life at this age?
A: The characters of Ollie and Lucrezia were inspired by two young people whom I've known for many years. I can't really say how I capture nuances at this age. Perhaps by listening, feeling for, and respecting these two individuals, watching them and their friends mature.
Q: You were raised in Maine and now live in the South of France. How has this experience-living in Europe having grown up in America-affected your writing?
A: Growing up in Maine and living here-both have affected who I am, and therefore how I write and what I write about: the people I meet, the places I see. Settings are important to me as a way of grounding my characters and, unconsciously, grounding myself. I've lived in several different countries and cultures, and for me the notion of place has been elemental in finding my bearings. It's no surprise to me that this idea has crept into my writing.
Q: FRIENDS OF THE HEART is a celebration of living and making the most of life. Lucrezia and Ollie's lives are changed forever by one senseless act. What are you hoping young readers will take away from Lucrezia and Ollie's experiences?
A: Many years ago, when I was a young girl, my life was changed by one senseless act. And every time I hear of or see another-quite frequently these days-that reverberates in some way with me. Science tells us that, due to brain development, adolescence is the one time where biologically we do live in the moment. So I can't claim to be telling my audience something they don't already know. On one level, I suppose I am saying make the most of life-it's not like a merry-go-round where you can buy a ticket and take another ride. When it's over it's over. And the next ride is never the same. But what I really hope to convey has more to do with spirit. Spirit is transmitted during life, long before that last breath expires, and spirit is something that never dies. If Lucrezia were not able to experience her love for Ollie and savor his spirit, she would be destroyed by her loss.
Contributor: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Reviews
Friends of the heart = Amici del cuore
Kate Banks.
Lucrezia looks forward to the summers, when her family leaves the hot city of Rome to join Nonno and Nanna at the beach. Every summer her best friend Ollie comes to stay as well and he and Lucrezia spend their days playing games, making pottery, learning to cook and, of course, swimming, boating, and lazing at the water's edge. One summer, a newcomer named Martin also visits the beach and he and the blonde and beautiful Anna Maria often spend their days with Lucrezia and Ollie. Sometimes Lucrezia feels jealous and is not sure why. Does she have a crush on Martin or is she in love with Ollie? She and Ollie are so close they can almost communicate telepathically, but she decides she loves him as her best and closest friend. Actually, this summer was to be spent touring Northern Europe with their families, but Ollie's father was sent on an assignment so the summer was passed in the usual way. The reader, knowing the change in plans is pivotal, senses a shadow hanging over the young people despite the sunny atmosphere permeating the story. The horrors of modern life and strife are brought home in a sudden and shocking way and Lucrezia must come to terms with tragedy. 2005, Frances Foster Books/Farrar Straus and Giroux, $16.00. Ages 10 to 13. Reviewer: Carolyn Mott Ford (Children's Literature).
Best Books:
Best Children's Books of the Year, 2005 ; Bank Street College of Education; United States
ISBN: 0-374-32455-7
Added 07/26/06
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