Interview with Andre Dubus III, The Garden of Last Days

Dubus did extensive research for this book, dropping writing for 4 months to read the Koran and several books on Islam and Saudi Arabia. He also interviewed several Muslims and Middle Eastern natives to gain a complete perspective on the matter. The research made Dubus nervous, as he “wasn’t sure the novel would still be there” after it was completed, but it stuck there.

In discussing his writing, Dubus mentions Mike Nichols’ distinction between reporting and storytelling: reporters ask “What’s happening?” while storytellers ask “What’s it really like?” Calling the writing process “mysterious, beautiful… even sacred,” Dubus uses the idea of stories “unfolding” to talk about the idea of the story “already in its total form folded somewhere,” with the writer’s job being to unfold the tale. The Garden of Last Days may seem a little slow to unfold at first, with some backstory and scene-setting, but once the folds start coming undone, it’s difficult to stop reading until you reach the resolution.

For Dubus, writing is a journey of discovery, and he made both small and large ones while working on The Garden of Last Days. Though he's still processing the discoveries made when writing The Garden of Last Days, Dubus thinks that a major part of it relates to good and evil. Dubus says he has “a hard time believing in good people and bad people,” and thinks instead in terms of good behavior and bad behavior. Bad behavior is punishable, but not irreversible. Even the Saudi Arabian man (Bassam) in The Garden of Last Days, seemingly destined for jihad, broaches sympathy with the western world and wavers in his convictions.

Initially, Dubus resisted writing from a Saudi point of view: “I wasn’t sure I could withhold my judgment.” But through research, writing, and attempts to empathize with the character, Dubus was able to write him into the novel. Asked whether Americans are incapable of or unwilling to empathize with other points of view, Dubus said he wanted to avoid making a judgment on that topic, but would says that “as a culture we are… woefully ignorant of other cultures.” The events after 9/11 have only exacerbated this tendency.

However, it also works the other way. Dubus feels it would be “hard to maintain the level of hate” necessary to carry out an act like 9/11, and feels that the attackers might have softened in their mission if they’d become more familiar with western culture. There’s not a more prestigious status for a young man in Islam than shahib: it “makes doctor, engineer, lawyer sound stupid.” Still, even the most radical Muslims are human. “These guys are changeable,” Dubus thinks. Part of changing people acknowledges first understanding their points of view; understanding the other is crucial to negotiation.

Dubus’ last book, The House of Sand and Fog, prepared him for The Garden of Last Days by letting him write from a different point of view. Taking on the mantle of an Iranian military man “Gave me the courage to wander even more widely from myself.” In the latest book, Dubus also explored the question, “How reprehensible can my character be and still be readable?” He ended up retaining the most affection for the character of Jean because she “wasn’t misbehaving like everyone else.”

What's next for Dubus? He's working on a collection of nonfiction essays focused on his childhood. Dubus has said of his father's writing that it legitimated art for him as a career; we hope to see this expanded on in the book.

The Garden of Last Days is a fast read that will leave your head reeling with important questions about humanity, and Dubus is a thoughtful guy who's sure to give a great reading next week. Make an effort to check it out.