Patching Things Up
Written by Brian Bushard
Photography by Kit Noble
Ann Patchett at the Nantucket Book Festival
I'm in a blender, that’s where I am.” That’s how bestselling author Ann Patchett describes the book tour she has embarked on for the release of her highly anticipated novel Whistler. Like many of Patchett’s novels, Whistler, at its core, is about family and rekindling relationships, telling the story of an adult woman who reconnects with the man her mother was briefly married to, whose relationship burned bright and fast. Patchett will be speaking about the new novel at the Nantucket Book Festival this June.
"You can’t get away [from family] so you have to deal with your problems,” said Patchett, the author of critically acclaimed novels such as Bel Canto, Commonwealth and The Dutch House. Her settings are often places that are hard to escape, either physically or emotionally. “It’s the same reason why I write so much about family,” she said. “If you hate your job, you can quit. People always talk about leaving their family, but they never really do, even if they haven’t spoken to their parents in years. They’re like a hook in your mouth.”
Patchett has spent time in places that feel inescapable, as well. Sometimes they serve as inspiration. In the early ’90s, she spent winters in Provincetown, where she won a fellowship to the Fine Arts Work Center and wrote her debut novel, The Patron Saint of Liars. “Provincetown was, in so many ways, just one of the happiest times in my life,” said Patchett, who now lives in Nashville, where she owns Parnassus Books. “I used to go back and teach at the work center some summers for a week, but I found it really disturbing to see all those people in the deadest town in the whole wide world, and then you couldn’t park on Commercial Street in the summer.”
“It’s like whiplash, like two different places,” she added. “I like those environments, like Nantucket in the winter, where you can’t get away from your problems, so you have to deal with them. That’s just very fertile ground for fiction.” That idea has come through in a number of Patchett’s books, launching her into literary superstardom. She was a National Book Critics Circle Award finalist and won the PEN/Faulkner Award for her breakout novel, Bel Canto. She has won the Carl Sandburg Literary Award from the Chicago Public Library Foundation, and was recognized by Time magazine in 2012 as one of its 100 most influential people in the world. But that fame never really sunk in.
Writing, she said, remains business as usual. When asked about how she plans a new book, she said she doesn’t think of big themes. Instead, she simply takes inspiration from the day at hand. “I don’t ever think I’m going to write about those themes [of family or inescapable environments],” she said. “In fact, it’s just the opposite. I will think that I’m not going to write about those things anymore, and then I finish a book and think, ‘Oh, well, look, there those themes are,’ because it’s me and it’s my subconscious, and that’s what I go back to, even if I think I’m not doing it.”
As the owner of a bookstore, business for Patchett also means sifting through hundreds—if not thousands—of books a year that she will put upon the shelves. She chooses some of those books for her book club, which has swelled to 2,000 members. “The UPS truck comes to the house every day and comes to the bookstore several times a day,” she said. “Everybody wants me to read their [pre-publication novel].” But at the end of the day, she can only read so many of them. If a book doesn’t have her attention after a few pages, she’ll give up on it. And with so many author talks, book signings, book clubs and boxes and boxes of advanced reader copies, she finds herself looking for an escape.
In a 2014 essay for The New York Times, she reflected on escapism from her time in Provincetown: “There were so many hours in every day and so few ways to spend them that after trying to figure out how to write a novel all day, I’d drive to Race Point Beach to look at the stars.” Those quiet moments of solitude—like winter in a resort town—serve as the inspiration she needs. “I write more now that I don’t have anytime and my life is flooded with books,” she said. “I don’t understand that, but I think that it’s true of a lot of writers [who are] bookstore owners. You’re just so submerged in that world of literature.”
Ann Patchett will be in conversation with TimEhrenberg on June 13 at the Methodist Church for the Nantucket Book Festival. Her new book, Whistler, comes out June 2.
You’ve created a persona of warmth and neutrality at a time when the media rewards outrage and division. Do you get the sense that audiences are craving a different type of on-air personality at a time the country is so split?
JENNA BUSH HAGER: It’s not a persona; it’s just who I am. I act the way I act on camera the way I do at home with my kids and with my friends and colleagues. I can’t worry about what people want or don’t want. I can just be myself. It’s so much easier to be who you are and be truthful. People want positivity, optimism and hopeful stories. One of the great things about The Today Show is that we have access to all of these extraordinary everyday people who are doing incredible things in our world and lifting up their neighbors. We understand what a privilege it is to put goodness into the world.
The Today Show is uniquely durable at a time of slumping television ratings. What is it about The TodayShow that captivates viewers?
BUSH HAGER: We work for an institution. I remember sitting in my grandparents’ house in Midland, Texas, seeing Willard Scott on television. All of us are very much aware that this place has been here forever. We are part of a bigger story. That’s one of the reasons why every morning when we walk into 30 Rock at the crack of dawn when it’s still dark outside, we’re so grateful for where we work and who we work with. When you’re part of a brand that has a storied history like The Today Show and NBC News, you know that you’re keeping the seat warm. All of us feel that way and feel so grateful for where we work.
Why did you go down the route of launching a book club?
BUSH HAGER: My mom was a librarian. She started two book festivals. My grandmothers both loved to read, and I know the importance of storytelling. We’re reading less as a culture, but I also know that people want book recommendations. Authors need a spotlight. I have one; I work at The Today Show. I have the ability to highlight debut and diverse voices—voices that aren’t always heard and books that I just love. It’s been this incredible privilege to get to share stories with our audience. It’s what I’ve always wanted to do.
What goes into the process of choosing books?
BUSH HAGER: Mainly I want a story that’s good. I want something that’s propulsive, interesting and discussible. I founded a book club, so conversation is something we think about. I also want newer voices that haven’t been published before, because I know how hard it is [for new authors]. I want books that are propulsive, fun and flashlight-under-the-covers late-night reading, and I also like things that have depth so they can be discussed.
How important is it to encourage children to read, especially in today’s digital world?
BUSH HAGER: It’s the world we live in. We also have to look at ourselves as adults who are looking down a tour phones instead of into the eyes of our children, because what does that say to them? I did a piece when I first came back from maternity leave for The Today Show that said there was all this anecdotal evidence of kids feeling as though they were less important or not interesting because their parents were looking down. It is the world we live in, and sometimes it can feel really scary. There’s also a place for books. There’s a place for reading. I read to my son every single night, and because he’s my youngest—and because my 13-year-old [daughter] now doesn’t want me to read to her every single night—I’ve realized it’s short-lived. [I try to] enjoy every single moment of those really special moments, because at some point, he’s going to want to read chapter books like his older sister, without me. Technology can be scary, but it’s up to us as parents to encourage our children to fall in love with reading.
How has artificial intelligence disrupted the learning process?
BUSH HAGER: If we had the answer, we would be psychic. We just don’t know. It’s too early to understand the repercussions [of artificial intelligence]. It’s up to parents to guide their children and make sure they know why research is important and why understanding critical-thinking issues is something we need to do as humans. I wish I had the answer to that question, but I do know there are other things we can be doing as parents to encourage critical thinking.
As a young girl, your sister asked when other grandparents would have their inauguration parties. How can a president remain relatable to the public?
BUSH HAGER: The reason why my sister [Barbara] said that is because my grandfather was an unbelievably humble man, and he made each of his grandchildren—and he had many—feel like we were his favorite. This was a time before social media, before cellphones. When we were with him, he acted like we were the most important thing in the entire world, and my parents did too. Why Barbara thought that all grandfathers’ inaugurations were like bar mitzvahs and [that] we celebrated grandfathers in this country is because he never acted like he was better than anybody else. He lived for many years, and we always watched as he was unbelievably kind. The truth is losing somebody in the public eye can be very hard and you’re publicly grieving. It’s not something many people understand, but it’s also very beautiful because we got to learn about all of the acts of service and kindness that he did without even telling his children and grandchildren. He wasn’t about broadcasting whatever he was doing; he was about kindness, humility and decency, which are all characteristics I’m hoping to pass on to my children.
You just interviewed four former presidents. Is there a commonality among them?
BUSH HAGER: What I was left with after interviewing all four of them is that they’re all optimistic about the country we live in and still grateful for our country and the freedoms that 250 years ago were allowed to us via the Constitution. They all said that. I left feeling hopeful in this experiment called America.
If you could recommend one book, what would it be?
BUSH HAGER: The book that first moved me and made me realize that I wanted to start a national book club, which I did seven years ago, was The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison. I loved everything she wrote. I reread it multiple times. That book made me realize books have the power to help create empathy. They’re a catalyst for conversation and empathy and compassion, which is such a powerful tool. I’m excited to be on Nantucket for the Nantucket Book Festival because it is a small festival that represents what all of these festivals do in bringing people together, bringing thought leaders and authors, and allowing for engaging conversation, which we need now more than ever.
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