Wednesday evening, I attended another author discussion – this time at the beautiful Marcus Jewish Community Center in Dunwoody, GA. For those of you not familiar with Atlanta, Dunwoody is just to the north of Atlanta proper and outside the Perimeter ring of I-285. The MJCCA is a great local resource for cultural arts like plays and art exhibits, but also athletics and fitness activities. This week, the facility hosted a wonderful discussion between Holly Firfer (an Emmy-nominated journalist you may have seen on CNN) and Alice Hoffman, author of The Invisible Hour and several dozen other books!
I was first introduced to Alice Hoffman’s work like many of you – through the movie “Practical Magic” staring Sandra Bulloch and Nicole Kidman. I actually read that book last year for Halloween and found myself loving the story even more than the movie. I try to read the books before seeing the movies usually because they can be so different, as was this case. But this was different in a very good and interesting way, which got me interested in her other works.
The discussion Wednesday centered on Hoffman’s newest release The Invisible Hour. I was fortunate to receive an ARC of this book a few months back to review – you can read the full review here. Without giving too much away, this book centers on two young women. The first is a girl who finds her self pregnant, with parents who don’t support her, running away and accidentally joining a cult, raising her baby under their rules. The second is her daughter who rebels against these rules and looks for an escape. Hoffman stated this book is really about two things: learning how to forgive your mother for her mistakes, and women saving women.
If you would like to avoid spoilers or too much detail, please skip ahead by clicking here.
With a central theme of accessible literature, Hoffman talked about how going to the library as a child changed her life and how she wanted to depict that for her characters. As reading is the escape for Mia, the daughter, it’s also the escape for so many of us who pick up Hoffman’s books. She was very honest in saying that the magical realism she uses helps readers to escape, but also to make sense of real life. Hoffman also discussed how the first accessible stories were fairytales and oral fables passed down through generations. That is also depicted in the book as Mia’s mom tells her the fairtales she can remember since books are not allowed in the cult.
Hoffman also discussed at length about the political and cultural events captured in this book and how they relate so closely to current events. She wrote this book during lockdown when many of us felt like our world shrank and freedoms were sparse. This was also the time when Roe vs. Wade was overturned by the Supreme Court and book bans began to pick up steam. All of these, plus LGBTQ+ relationships, are woven into this novel beautifully. I was interested to hear her discuss how abortion was actually legal until the 1850’s – around the time of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s writings.
When asked what inspired the characters in the books, Hoffman related the women in her life, and also the lack thereof. Her grandmother, who recently passed, is the person who shared those fairytales with her at an early age. Hoffman discussed how she finds herself writing more about Judaism and faith now because of what she’s missing from her grandmother. She also discussed her upbringing as the daughter of a NYC social worker – I can see how this influenced Mia’s NYC life, and the telling of how the children in the cult were raised. I think it also influenced the way Sarah and Constance took Mia in as surrogate parents when she left the cult. Hoffman said it was cathartic to write this story as it helped her come to terms with her mother’s actions and repair their relationship. Hoffman did share that she has no sisters or daughters, yet so many of her books are centered around groups of women she can bring to life on the page to live vicariously through their comradery. She talked about how she wants to tell the stories of women who didn’t get the chance to tell it themselves. The author also stated that each book she writes has a question that needs to be answered – for this one, it’s how to forgive your mother.
During the Q&A portion of the evening, Hoffman was asked if there was any time period she could go back to like Mia did, where and when would it be. I was surprised to hear her say NYC in the 1960’s, but the audience got a laugh when she said why: she’s been there and wants to go back knowing what she knows now! Hoffman was also asked about the setting for this book – it’s in a beautiful area of Western Massachusetts where she also set her previous book The Red Garden. Hoffman stated that was partially escapism on her part during the COVID lockdown. She also brought in characters that were family members of those in The Red Garden because of the location.
Another audience member asked Hoffman for advice for those looking to launch their own literary careers. The author laughed and shared that she was a high school drop out, who later went out to college. She stated the best place to practice your craft and hone your skills is in workshops or classes – they make you take the step of putting pen to paper (or fingers to keys) and move forward. She also said not to think much about what others will think of your book – just write it! Her college professor once told her to write what you can imagine, not what you know, to spark creativity. Hoffman’s last suggestion was to read a lot – she stated that she reads a lot when not writing to keep her love of literature alive.
In closing, Firfer asked Hoffman what books she’s reading right now. Since she’s working on two new books to be released at some time in the future, she’s not currently reading much. However, she did recommend a few throughout her discussion including The Scarlet Letter (referenced throughout her book), Fahrenheit 451, The Midnight Library (Matt Haig), and any book by Elizabeth Strout.
This was a lovely evening of discussion and community to kick off the MJCCA’s book festival which will span over the next few months. If you are in the area, please check them out to see what other great authors are coming up!
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What I’m Reading
- Current print book: Abigail Adams, Janet Whitney
- Current audio book: The Butterfly Collector, Tea Cooper
- Book I’m most looking forward to: Triptych, Karen Slaughter
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