Interview With an Author: Priya Parmar
Priya Parmar is the author of the novels Exit the Actress and Vanessa and Her Sister, a New York Times Notable Book, and is co-author of the musical Sylvia (London Old Vic), nominated for the Olivier Award for Best New Musical. She divides her time between Hawaii and Connecticut with her family and four rescue dogs. Her latest novel is The Original, and she recently talked about it with Daryl Maxwell for the LAPL Blog.
What was your inspiration for The Original?
My mother and I were watching The Philadelphia Story. We have always watched Hepburn’s movies together. Out of nowhere, she said, “This was her comeback movie.”
Comeback from what? Katharine Hepburn had always been on top. I fell down a research rabbit hole and never came back.
How familiar were you with the work and lives of Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant prior to writing The Original? Did you have to do a bit of research prior to writing the novel? If so, how long did it take you to do the research and write your novel?
If you had asked me then, I would have said I was familiar with the broad outlines of their lives and most of their films, but it turns out I really wasn’t. I had to do so much research. Letters, biographies, interviews, archives, the places, Los Angeles, Connecticut, and then, the films themselves. It took years, and I absolutely loved the experience.
What was the most interesting or surprising thing that you learned during your research about these amazing women?
That Hepburn built the unstudied, authentic icon we all remember. After early defeat and tragedy, she grabbed the reins in her own life and did not let go.
How did the novel evolve and change as you wrote and revised it? Are there any characters or scenes that were lost in the process that you wish had made it to the published version?
The novel did not unfold the way I expected at all. The voice was fast and clean and arrived fully formed. I remember just hoping the magic would hold until I finished.
So much lands on the cutting room floor. Characters and passages I loved. There was a sequence of scenes with Howard Hughes and Hepburn’s family on the East Coast that was such fun to write, but ultimately did not make it into the final novel. If it does not ring true or feel part of the whole, then it has to go.
Little Women used to come on TV once a year. I don’t remember the first time I saw it, but I remember waiting for it all year.
Given the number of films she made during her career, I understand completely the difficulty of naming a favorite Katherine Hepburn film! Can you name your top five Hepburn pictures? (But, if you DO have a favorite, feel free to say so!)
Top five? How about top six?
I can’t pick a favorite!
Same questions for Cary Grant. When was the first time you remember seeing Grant in a film? What was it and where did you see it? Can you name your top five of his movies?
The first Cary Grant film I remember seeing was To Catch a Thief. Not sure I understood it at the time.
Top Five. Ok, here we go.
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To Catch a Thief (or The Grass is Greener—I cannot decide)
Do you have any favorites of the films of George Cukor and Randolph Scott?
I love George Cukor’s films. Adam’s Rib with Hepburn and Spencer Tracy is just genius.
We lost Cary Grant in 1986 and Katharine Hepburn in 2003. Did you have the chance to see them in person or meet them prior to their passing?
I didn’t sadly. I have spoken to so many people who met them, and the stories are just magic. I revisited Old Saybrook recently and the curator of The Kate Museum told me a story about Hepburn pulling over her bicycle to tell the man painting the fire hydrant that it ought to be painted red and not green. I love that.
If you could ask them each about something, what would it be?
For Cary Grant, I would ask if he privately thinks of himself as Archie or Cary and also, could I please borrow the striped sweater and red polka dot neckerchief he wears at the start of To Catch a Thief?
For Katharine Hepburn, I would ask why she kept the emerald ring from Howard Hughes and did she ever wear it again?
Is there something you wish you could tell each of them?
I am not sure I would want to do any of the talking if I met them. I would just want to breathe it in and listen.
What’s currently on your nightstand?
My dear friend Christina Baker Kline’s new and brilliant novel, The Foursome and Lauren Groff’s new collection, Brawler. Also, The Best Dog in the World: Essays on Love, a gorgeous collection of essays about dogs edited by Alice Hoffman—I am a dog rescue fanatic. I just finished and loved The Wedding People by Alice Espach. Plus six kinds of dog medication and dog eye drops!
Can you name your top five favorite or most influential authors?
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Toni Morrison
What was your favorite book when you were a child?
When I was growing up, I loved the rhyme and rhythm of James Thurber’s The Thirteen Clocks.
Was there a book you felt you needed to hide from your parents?
The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel
Is there a book you’ve faked reading?
I faked reading all the books until the summer after second grade. I could not really read fluently and was just memorizing and repeating back. I remember it was terrifying.
Can you name a book you’ve bought for the cover?
So many. I bought A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara right when it came out for the beautiful black and white cover.
Is there a book that changed your life?
The End of The Affair by Graham Greene. The shifting jealousies and dynamics between the three central characters are stunning and beautiful.
Can you name a book for which you are an evangelist (and you think everyone should read)?
For sheer beauty, Howard’s End by E.M. Forster. There is something new there every time I go back to it
Is there a book you would most want to read again for the first time?
Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier. I wish I could read it fresh with no knowledge of how it would end. I am fascinated by how she built the growing sense of unease.
What is the last piece of art (music, movies, TV, more traditional art forms) that you’ve experienced or that has impacted you?
I just saw Aftersun. The restraint, the way it stays with you. Really special.
What is your idea of THE perfect day (where you could go anywhere/meet with anyone)?
A perfect day for me would involve sunshine, family, water, friends, dogs, writing, and a sense of being exactly where I should be. And if I am lucky, my dear friend Paula McLain’s apple pie.
What is the question that you’re always hoping you’ll be asked, but never have been?
Would you like to help me set up a nationwide book club for people and their dogs?
What is your answer?
Absolutely.
What are you working on now?
I am circling my next book, but am in the wobbly, jelly legs stage where I am not sure it is a book yet…
