A Conversation With Novelist Daniel Woodrell

Missouri author Daniel Woodrell will make an appearance at the St. Louis County Library (1640 S. Lindbergh Blvd.) on September 30 at 7 p.m. for a discussion and signing of his newest novel, The Maid’s Version. The event is open to the public and free to attend. The Maid’s Version will be available for purchase at the event from Left Bank Books.

The story centers on a dance hall explosion that killed 42 people in 1929, and how it scarred the people of the small town for generations, particularly one woman, a maid, who thinks she knows the cause of this unsolved tragedy. Was it the embittered gypsies? Mobsters from St. Louis? The fanatical preacher who threatened to burn the sinning couples as they waltzed? Or was it all a disastrous accident? The maid thinks she knows, and after decades of repeating her story, someone is finally willing to listen.

The captivating book was a thrill to read, with striking imagery and rhythmic language that at times read like poetry. The masterful author agreed to answer a few questions about the novel, his inspirations, and life in general.

The Maid’s Version is based on true events, correct?

DW: It was inspired by true events. I didn’t try to follow the facts so far as they are known. They’re both explosions and they do resemble [each other], but…I’m not trying to base it on real people or anything.

So the ending does not reflect how things really happened?

No. I don’t know how it happened, and really the maid doesn’t know how it happened, either. But that ending…it’s similar to some of the rumors. There have been at least a dozen rumors that attempt to explain it. Half of them are accidental, and half of them are something else. But the ending in the book is just the ending the maid preferred, and I thought it made good fiction, so I went with that.

Is there a reason you decided to write the story in a nonlinear fashion?

I had attempted doing it in a more conventional, traditional, historical novel way, in a way that was going to be much longer and more all-inclusive and follow every possibility out. It just didn’t work for me. I didn’t know if I was ever really going to write this or not. Eventually, I realized I wanted a tighter focus. When I realized the kid, Alek, would be telling the story, I realized that would allow it to go back and forth in time a little bit, and I wanted to make sure I mentioned the victims. But I didn’t want a chapter on each one, because I had attempted it that way at first and it was just too much.

There’s a French film director I liked, and in an interview, he said he likes to let the viewer know what’s coming so they’ll focus on the scene itself instead of worrying about what’s coming. You know what’s coming, but focus on how we’re getting there. And that has stuck with me. I’m not trying to provide some snapper surprise. And in this book, we give you a pretty good idea of who’s involved and who isn’t early on, but I want to spend time on the how of it all, how it came about.

What made you want to write this story?

Well, both sides of my family were here when the real event occurred. I’ve heard about it for so long, and ever since I heard about it, I thought, “That would probably make a good book if you could figure out how to tell it.” The characters…Alma is a lot like one of my grandmothers in many ways, and then I realized that it kind of blended with a family story. And I just knew that something that affected this town that much—I mean we had the 85th memorial for the dead in April—it had to be rich as fiction if you could figure out how to get at it.

If The Maid’s Version became a movie, could you see anybody playing the lead characters?

I’m not sure…it’s like Winter’s Bone—I didn’t know who Jennifer Lawrence was. They went through a lot of names, and when they finally got to her, she turned out to be just the right thing, but I never would have been able to imagine her. Most of the actresses that were being considered I was only vaguely aware of, so…like Alma? I don’t know. I’m always surprised at what casting really works.

So…why do you write?

I’ve always wanted to. My mom had a thing about teaching us to read before we went away to school, and I already knew I liked books. It was more or less third grade when I said if I can do it, I want to be a writer when I grow up. And I just knew that there was something about my relationship with my books that I wanted to continue and deepen. Then it was quite a few years, I was 23 before I said, “I’m going to see if I can actually do this now,” instead of just wanting to do it. And it was a slow process from there. I knew I had to give it a good shot before I would be happy doing anything else. Find out if I couldn’t do it, then I’d have to reassess, but I knew it was time to give it a try and see what was there.

What made you decide to sit down and actually start something?

I got to the University of Kansas and decided to take a creative writing course, and the teacher was really good with young, beginner types. And I realized that I did have some facility and some ability, but I did have an awful lot to learn. That’s when I decided to buckle down. There’s really no way around having to write a lot of pages of junk as you learn your way. And I just set myself on a task to try and write every day, and I slowly realized that most of it wasn’t very good, but I had to go through that to learn how to write well enough to go forward.

What is the hardest thing about writing?

There’s a lot of uncertainty. My dad used to say, “When you’re self-employed, you work for a tyrant,” and it’s up to you to do the work. It’s up to you to find the way.

Do you have time to read for fun?

Oh yeah, I read a lot.

Do you prefer Kindle or print books?

I read an actual book. I’m not Kindle-ized yet. I see more and more people on the airplane reading them, but I haven’t switched. I actually like the feeling and look and smell of books…in fact, I have way too many.

What is your favorite saying?

Thelonious Monk said, “Just play the notes you really mean.” It’s pretty good advice.

If you could have been the original author of any book, what would it have been?

Having grown up in St. Charles for grade school and in Missouri…it’s kind of hard to avoid Mark Twain’s presence and shadow. I agree with Hemingway that Huck Finn is pretty much the starting point of a whole vein of American writing that opened the door, showed how you could do it in a certain way.

I feel like every kid needs to read at least some Mark Twain.

My mom insisted on that for me when I was a kid in the summers. It wasn’t Huck Finn, necessarily. I can’t remember when I finally read that, but I used to read Tom Sawyer at least once every summer because I liked it, and she thought it was good for me. And then I wandered into some of the others. And then when I got older, I wandered into some of the Mark Twain that had a different sound to it. But yeah, he’s a big one.

Sounds like your mom was a pretty big influence on you.

She was. Both of my parents were, despite whatever the economic circumstances in the house were. One way or another, paperbacks or books of some sort showed up in the house. So we always had books lying around. My mom was a big reader, and so was my dad, so the idea that books were something to appreciate was never in doubt at my house. My dad went to Wash. U. at night, and some of his textbooks would end up staying in our house when he was done with the course. Or some of the books for his classes, because there was a bunch of Bernard Malamud and stuff lying around that I’m sure came from some course he had to take at Wash. U.

What advice would you give to aspiring writers?

If you really think you feel it, then just give it everything you can. You can’t expect too much too soon. You might have a lot early, but most of us have to work through it and develop a little bit before we’re good enough to get published. Some of the people I started out with that I thought were far better writers than I was at that stage just lost interest along the way. Since I’m more limited, I’ve just stuck to it.

It was probably the military that gave you that dedication.

Yeah, I think so.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

No, I’m just looking forward to coming up and enjoying St. Louis again.