Lies That Entertain: Lee Bob Black Interviews Hannah Tinti, Author of The Good Thief
The Good Thief is about an orphan named Ren, who is missing his left hand, and Benjamin Nab, a con artist claiming to be Ren’s long-lost brother. Set in 19th century New England, the novel is also about grave robbing, women who don’t fit traditional female archetypes, the nature of death, a mousetrap factory, a research hospital, sadism, and a friendly yet murderous giant named Dolly.
In this interview, Hannah Tinti discusses approaching writing the novel as a short story writer, using her emotions and spirituality to write, the un-holiness of the Vatican, how her agent stealthily confirmed that she wasn’t crazy before representing her, and how as a writer you have to stop fighting your characters on the page and accept them as they are.
Lee Bob Black: You lived in downtown New York City at the time of 9/11 and started writing The Good Thief after the attacks. How did 9/11 influence the novel?
Hannah Tinti: I think the two will always be linked somehow in my mind. Living downtown, every day you were reminded of the people who had died — whether it was the smell of the burning pile, the ashes in my apartment, or the corner lamp posts full of missing person fliers. The Good Thief is permeated in this same way with death and loss.
LBB: What can you say about the role of men vs. the role of women in the book?
HT: The novel, for the most part, is a world populated by men. These men (and boys) are lost in some way or another — be it physically lost, as Ren is, being an orphan, or more emotionally lost, such as Tom, who has become an alcoholic after causing the death of a friend. But at key points in the story women appear, and they cause, for the most part, immense good. They’re powerful in a way that the men are not. I suppose this is the feminist in me coming out.
Women at this time period, in New England in the 1800s, were confined to their homes and led quiet lives. But there were also thousands of girls who worked in the factories in Lowell, Massachusetts and other places around the country. I was interested in finding a way to tell their stories, without distracting too much from the main characters
LBB: Your novel abounds with liars. Can you share a bit about your attraction to this theme?
HT: This theme unfolded slowly as I wrote the book. The character of Benjamin came first, and then his stories, and then, when I was reaching the climax, I realized that Ren had to tell a story as well, and it had to be the lie to beat all other lies, incorporating all that he had learned — bits and pieces of truth and fiction. So the novel, in a way, is all about storytelling. Which is what I do. I write fiction. Lies that entertain.
LBB: Are some your characters based on real people?
HT: None of the characters are real people, except for Doctor Milton, whom I loosely based on the famous surgeon and resurrectionist John Hunter. For the most part, I don’t use my real life in my fiction. Nothing in The Good Thief has actually happened to me. Instead, I drag my emotional life and use those emotions to connect with the characters and try and make their experiences feel authentic.
For example, I’ve certainly suffered losses, and people I love have died or been taken away from me. And that helped to explore Ren’s feelings of loneliness.
Another thing that I used to connect with Ren was an accident I had when I was five years old, where I cut open my left wrist on a gravestone — I know, sounds pretty gothic. I didn’t lose the hand, but I had a large scar there for many years — it’s still there.
LBB: You’re talked about your emotional side entering your fiction, how about your spiritual side, so to speak?
HT: I was raised Catholic, and went to Catholic school. This definitely influenced my concepts of God and spirituality. There is a pageantry and a magic to mass that I find moving. Also, I think the concept of confession is brilliant — call it early psychotherapy. But there are also many things about the Catholic religion that I disagree with. I think that women should be able to become priests, for example. Also, I’ve been to the Vatican, and I found it to be one of the most un-holy places. There was too much wealth and opulence. It was very un-Christ-like. Jesus Christ would not approve of it at all, I think. On the other hand, I’ve been to small churches that have moved me immensely. The Capuchin crypt in Rome, for example. That said, I pray the rosary, and I think of God as influencing my life, very similar to the way Ren does, when he puts his hand in the river and feels the current pulling on his fingers.
LBB: Several early reviews have said that The Good Thief is “Dickensian.” How does that feel?
HT: I’m a huge fan of Dickens, and re-read his work regularly. He is a master of creating memorable characters, and frankly it’s humbling for anyone to consider I’m even in his league. One way that he definitely influenced this book is how he wrote his novels in a serial form, so that the chapters are contained in a way, and have their own arc. Being a short story writer, this is really the only way that I could approach writing a novel, and I certainly was thinking of Dickens as I structured the storyline and outlined each chapter.
LBB: Tell us about one of your memorable characters and why he or she is memorable.
HT: Many people have asked me why Benjamin is so elusive. They want to know who he really is, and if there is any truth to what he finally reveals about his relationship with Ren. The fact is, he was the most difficult character to write in The Good Thief. He eluded me, too — I couldn’t get a handle on him, and tried adding all kinds of information about his background, and even wrote a whole side story about his previous life, but it never felt right. Finally, I understood that he was this way for a reason — there are glimmers of his real character, but no one ever really knows what’s going on with him. I had to accept him for the way he was, and once I did, once I stopped fighting him on the page, he fell into place.
LBB: Are you done with the characters in The Good Thief? Or do you plan to write more stories with them?
HT: I don’t think I’m done with them yet. I’ve got ideas for a few ways that some of them can return, particularly Benjamin, Ren, and the Harelip, but I feel like the project is in too early a stage to really describe it yet.
LBB: A question about planning and outlining. One of the first scenes you wrote was about Dolly being found in a coffin after he’d been buried alive. That scene appears in the middle of the book. I’m curious, did you know how your book was going to end when you started writing it?
HT: I don’t outline at all. Whenever I try and lead the story somewhere, it doesn’t work. I have to let the story lead me. It’s kind of like using a divining rod. I write a scene, and think, well, what happened before this? Or what happened next? And often when I actually start writing the sentences they take me into a completely different direction.
LBB: Nicole Aragi has represented you since your short story collection Animal Crackers. How is working with her?
HT: When I was looking for an agent, I really wanted to work with Nicole, because she not only had a stellar reputation, but she had a proven track record of selling short story collections successfully. I sent her the manuscript, and she called me a few months later, and asked to meet me for coffee. After we chatted for about an hour, she said that she’d like to represent me, and then admitted that she wanted to meet me in person first, to make sure I wasn’t crazy, because the stories in my collection were so bizarre.
