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Charm & Strange
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From: stephanie kuehn <stephkuehn_at_comcast.net>
Date: Wed, 23 Jul 2014 12:39:53 -0700
Oh, thank you for having me be a part of this discussion! It's a real honor, and I very much appreciate it. I'm someone who grew up in the eighties reading Robert Cormier and Joyce Sweeney, and am fascinated by the way realistic YA has evolved since then. I am happy to answer any and all questions about Charm & Strange. If there's anything you want to know, please don't hesitate to ask!
To answer the questions so far:
Merri's question about psychology and Win's belief system: Thank you for your kind words and introduction. I think a lot of psychological ideas and personal questions are wrapped up in the story. At the time I wrote the book, I was grappling with my own understanding of human change and emotional isolation, of childhood resilience and survival, of empathy and connection. The story is fundamentally about sexual abuse, complex PTSD, and a boy who is stuck in his own sense of worthlessness. Complex PTSD is a variant of PTSD that describes the sequelea of ongoing trauma that has (usually) occurred during childhood, and which causes a disruption in identity development
(along with other trauma symptoms). Win's dissociation and fragmented sense of self is definitely a part of this (as are his flashbacks, low self esteem, poor body image, anxiety, anger, mood swings, and self harm). However, using the wolf metaphor was also a literary way to bring to life Win's emotional pain: his belief in his badness and sense of isolation from humanity, as well as his desire to be empowered after being made to feel powerless.
Elsa's question about Keith and Siobhan: Thank you! That's an interesting thing to think about: what choices were deliberate and what weren't. When I was writing the book, I know I tried to make sure all of the truth was there on the page from the start, so that there was a sense of inevitability by the time the ending came. However, I've definitely learned that it's hard to tell what is a too subtle versus an obvious clue. I think my natural writing tendency is to hold back and let truths be inferred, which means many things are never said in the book at all (and as a result, some plot points may end up being confusing or vague or unsatisfying). For me, I think I was trying to write the story so tightly from Win's point of view in the present, that the things he wants to keep hidden from the past stay hidden for most of the story. I also think I saw the truth about his siblings as really being his darkest secret, not the abuse, because while we can understand the abuse as the true source of his pain, he perceives his guilt and sense of badness to come from the fact that his siblings died and he didn't. So, for him, that's his ultimate, damning truth--the thing he doesn't say, but instead feels, in his anger and grief and self loathing.
Thank you!
-Steph
______________
stephanie kuehn, ya author CHARM & STRANGE COMPLICIT DELICATE MONSTERS (2015) St. Martin's Press/St. Martin's Griffin stephaniekuehn.com
_at_stephkuehn
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Received on Wed 23 Jul 2014 02:40:16 PM CDT
Date: Wed, 23 Jul 2014 12:39:53 -0700
Oh, thank you for having me be a part of this discussion! It's a real honor, and I very much appreciate it. I'm someone who grew up in the eighties reading Robert Cormier and Joyce Sweeney, and am fascinated by the way realistic YA has evolved since then. I am happy to answer any and all questions about Charm & Strange. If there's anything you want to know, please don't hesitate to ask!
To answer the questions so far:
Merri's question about psychology and Win's belief system: Thank you for your kind words and introduction. I think a lot of psychological ideas and personal questions are wrapped up in the story. At the time I wrote the book, I was grappling with my own understanding of human change and emotional isolation, of childhood resilience and survival, of empathy and connection. The story is fundamentally about sexual abuse, complex PTSD, and a boy who is stuck in his own sense of worthlessness. Complex PTSD is a variant of PTSD that describes the sequelea of ongoing trauma that has (usually) occurred during childhood, and which causes a disruption in identity development
(along with other trauma symptoms). Win's dissociation and fragmented sense of self is definitely a part of this (as are his flashbacks, low self esteem, poor body image, anxiety, anger, mood swings, and self harm). However, using the wolf metaphor was also a literary way to bring to life Win's emotional pain: his belief in his badness and sense of isolation from humanity, as well as his desire to be empowered after being made to feel powerless.
Elsa's question about Keith and Siobhan: Thank you! That's an interesting thing to think about: what choices were deliberate and what weren't. When I was writing the book, I know I tried to make sure all of the truth was there on the page from the start, so that there was a sense of inevitability by the time the ending came. However, I've definitely learned that it's hard to tell what is a too subtle versus an obvious clue. I think my natural writing tendency is to hold back and let truths be inferred, which means many things are never said in the book at all (and as a result, some plot points may end up being confusing or vague or unsatisfying). For me, I think I was trying to write the story so tightly from Win's point of view in the present, that the things he wants to keep hidden from the past stay hidden for most of the story. I also think I saw the truth about his siblings as really being his darkest secret, not the abuse, because while we can understand the abuse as the true source of his pain, he perceives his guilt and sense of badness to come from the fact that his siblings died and he didn't. So, for him, that's his ultimate, damning truth--the thing he doesn't say, but instead feels, in his anger and grief and self loathing.
Thank you!
-Steph
______________
stephanie kuehn, ya author CHARM & STRANGE COMPLICIT DELICATE MONSTERS (2015) St. Martin's Press/St. Martin's Griffin stephaniekuehn.com
_at_stephkuehn
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Received on Wed 23 Jul 2014 02:40:16 PM CDT
