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Between the Lines |
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Interview with Robert Bausch |
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The Gypsy Man
Robert Bausch
John Bone is in prison for manslaughter of a child—but what does that have to do with the missing Landon boy? Only the Gypsy Man knows. And once the signs
of this child-stealing phantom start appearing in the town of Crawford, fear becomes more than legendary to the local mountain people—especially to John's wife, Penny, who has a child of her own to
protect.
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Biography |
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Robert Bausch is the author of four novels and a collection of short stories. His most recent novel, A Hole in the Earth was a New York Times,
Notable Book of the Year as well as a Washington Post Book World, Favorite Book of the Year. He has been a teacher for twenty-four years and has taught survival classes for the Air Force and writing and
literature classes at George Mason University, The American University, Johns Hopkins University and The University of Virginia. He lives in Stafford, Virginia, and currently teaches Literature and Creative
Writing at Northern Virginia Community College.
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Interview |
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Q: Is there really a legend of the Gypsy Man?
A: More than twenty years ago, a colleague, and by now a dear friend, (we still work together at NVCC), told me of a legend she heard long ago—I think in Tennessee or Mississippi—about a "Gypsy Man" who kidnapped children and then after a year or so returned them. I don't know the origin of the legend. I was more interested in the implications of that sort of thing, especially if the Gypsies returned a child with a thank-you note, or some other communication. That's what first drew me to the story. In my book the legend is that he steals children and never returns them, and that he himself was once kidnapped by Gypsies, and was himself returned. I figured I could make up anything I wanted about a "legend" since most legends seem to mix the true and factual with the wild and fanciful. I have not tried to re-create or otherwise investigate any real legend of a Gypsy Man. It was too much fun making one up.
Q: What does this novel, Gypsy Man, have to say about superstition and fear?
A: Well first, and above all I hope, this novel says that all fear is real, no matter what or who produces it. That's the rub about fear. It's always real. I think I'm dealing with three kinds of evil: Imaginary, accidental and intentional—which is the worst kind. The first is where superstition comes in, the so called "Bogey" man—when I was a kid we called it "Boogey" man. Many people carry this fear into adulthood as a kind of irrational prejudice. Right now, the Bogey Man, for some people, is anyone practicing Islam, or anyone of Arabic descent. There's a real situation we're dealing with, and it doesn't help to muddy the water with that sort of unreasoning fear. The second kind of evil is self-explanatory. Denise Walton is accidentally killed. No intent, you see. But the outcome is still a kind of evil. And then of course there's intentional evil-guys like McKeldon and Peach, who by inaction, or action, perpetrate genuine evil, too.
Q: The characters of Penny, John, Sheriff Paxton, Clare and even Henry Gault are very easy to identify with—they could be our relatives and next door neighbors. And yet, the story is set in the past. Do people really change with the times, or is human nature just that—human nature, fixed and unchanging?
A: Circumstances change, the facts might be markedly different, but the inner life of human beings is pretty much the same and has been since we first stopped dragging our knuckles along the ground. I remember being amazed at that scene in the Iliad when Hector reaches down to kiss his son, right before he goes out to face Achilles. Hector knows he is no match for Achilles and he will die, and he knows this is a kind of farewell, but when he moves toward his son, the boy is frightened by the great feathers on Hector's helmet. So he stops, takes the helmet off and sets it aside so he can hold his son. That's as moving as any thing written in literature and it was composed by a blind man almost three thousand years ago. It could have been written yesterday.
Q: The real mystery in this novel is subtly introduced, and, gets solved only because of the legendary fear of the Gypsy Man. Did Terry Landon have such great significance when you began? Or did this missing child twist develop as the novel progressed?
A: I think it was central to where I wanted to go. I didn't know when I started if he'd be the only missing child. Also, much of the subtlety of the mystery was accidental—it just evolved that way in the writing. I have the great good fortune to have an editor who really IS an editor—so the progression of the novel was also influenced mightily by his take on things. I am very happy to have one think the real mystery of the novel is subtly introduced.
Q: Each of the main characters in the Gypsy Man speak to the reader in 1st person—sharing their thoughts and perspectives—becoming very human. Which of these characters became your favorite as their personalities developed through your writing?
A: Well I counted them once, and was amazed to find that the story is told by thirteen different characters. Of course my favorite characters are Penny Bone and her husband John—but I also like Morgan Tiller, and especially Sheriff Paxton. I grew to like Paxton more and more as the book progressed—even though Penny can't stand him. He did things that surprised me, and was always, eventually, doing the right thing in circumstances where the right thing is called for. I also liked Gault and his wife—I hope they come through as human, too. I think they are tragic and sad people, but I came to have affection for them; for what was lost because of his folly, and her lack of awareness. I hope they're real enough to be worth the reader's sympathy. To tell the truth, I liked Peach a lot too—I mean it was fun to create him; to see what he'd do next. He is, I think, the most consciously evil character I've ever created.
I'm surprised to see, reading this over, that I didn't mention Clare. She goes her own way and makes her own trouble, but I think she is my least favorite. I created her, as Checkhov used to say, "lovingly," but she's not at all like the great women I've known in my life. Maybe that's why she's the least favorite.
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