DECEMBER FEATURE #1: Wormwood, Nevada by David Oppegaard [ Edited ]

[paulgoatallen]

We were introduced to David Oppegaard early last year when we featured his debut novel, The Suicide Collectors, a brutally bleak read that not only impressed me with its originality but also with its, for lack of a better word, courageness. Setting out to write a novel like The Suicide Collectors, well, you just have to read this.... audacious story.

Now for his sophomore effort: Wormwood, Nevada. This time David has penned a (potentially) apocalyptic tale about a meteorite landing in the middle of a small Nevada town – and its unbelievable consequences!

I'm really fascinated by this one, particularly because of the less than stellar PW review (below). This spurs a great conversation topic about the reliability of reviews and anonymous reviewers, etc. I have some pretty interesting thoughts on this so.... stay tuned!

From Publishers Weekly

A meteorite crashing into the Nevada desert sparks a search for meaning and purpose in Oppegaard's intriguing if flat follow-up to The Suicide Collectors. Tyler and Anna Mayfield move to Wormwood, Nev., looking to escape the postcollege funk that permeated their lives in Nebraska. When a night out at the local bar is interrupted with a massive explosion nearby, the young couple find themselves in the middle of an already off-kilter town going meteor crazy. Tyler, haunted by the disappearance of his older brother years ago, sees booze, weed and fatigue-induced visions of aliens and becomes involved with a group that believes visitors will arrive imminently. Meanwhile, Anna, a former Miss Nebraska, suffers apocalyptic nightmares amid fears that the best years of her life are slipping away. Oppegaard deftly aligns the inner fears and waning hopes of his well-rounded protagonists with the paranormal tremors, but the tension all but dies in the final act as the novel unspools into a disappointingly diffuse anticlimax. (Dec.)

Paul

DAVID OPPEGAARD WILL BE HERE DECEMBER 7th TO DECEMBER 11th!

This should be a great conversation – you better prepare yourself, David! 

Paul

[paulgoatallen]

David:

Since we still have readers waiting to get Wormwood, Nevada into their hands – B&N has the official drop date as tomorrow, 12/8/09  – I thought it would be a good idea to start off with some general questions and get into the specifics of Wormwood, Nevada in the days to come....

1. I'm obviously a huge fan. Your debut novel, The Suicide Collectors – which just came out in trade paperback, by the way! –  was one of the most memorable books I read in the last year and the utter originality of it really resonated with me. Call me cynical but when the majority of new writers in SF and fantasy today publish a debut, it's more often than not "the first installment in the (fill-in-the-blank) series..." This is not your path. What was the inspiration behind writing Wormwood, Nevada, and is it tied in any way to The Suicide Collectors?

2. The end of the world seems to be a powerful theme for you. Were you a fan of apocalyptic fiction growing up?

3. How do you think the area where you grew up – a small town in Minnesota – has affected your writing?

4. How much more difficult – or easy – was it to write Wormwood, Nevada, as opposed to The Suicide Collectors?

5. How would you classify Wormwood, Nevada?

Thanks!

Paul

[DavidOppegaard]

Hi Paul,

Sorry I'm late with this today, I totally spaced out (no pun intended).  As I write this in St. Paul, it's ten minutes before midnight and the release!  How fitting that I'll be writing as it passes.  Thank you for having me again and just being an all-around nice guy!

To the questions:

1. I purposely avoided starting out my career with a series.  Mostly because it's hard to maintain a high standard for three or more books with the same cast, and also because I didn't want to get pegged as a one trick pony.  If there are sequels to The Suicide Collectors, they won't be in order and they might not officially be "sequels", though it would be cool to be the author of The Suicide Trilogy, as more than one reader has pointed out.  With Wormwood, Nevada I obviously hadn't said all I wanted to say about apocalyptic ideas and themes, and I was interested in creating a small town that had the end of the world on its mind.  My two first books are only tied together in theme, though in my third book some of The Suicide Collectors universe does pop up.

2. Yes, I was a big apocalyptic fan growing up.  I loved The Stand, Swan Song, A Canticle for Lebowitz, and other usual suspects. 

3. I think growing up in a small town has affected me a lot.  For one thing, I write in a pretty direct style that scorns ornamentation.  I think I instinctively pull back from writing sentences I'd have to explain in a different way to someone who's farmed all their life and could care less about David Foster Wallace.  It also helped a lot with creating the town of Wormwood, Nevada, which has almost the exact same population as my hometown, Lake Crystal, Minnesota. 

4. It was easier in the sense that it was much less depressing to spend my time as a writer in Wormwood, as opposed to spending it in a world ravaged by a suicide plague.  It was harder to craft, though.  The original draft ran four hundred pages long and had something like 12 different points of view.  A big watershed moment in writing Wormwood came when I realized it was actually Anna and Tyler's story, and the rest of the town was along for the ride.  

5. Literary science fiction.  Let the sci-fi critics chew on that for awhile.

[paulgoatallen]

David:

How do you go about writing? Do you plot out the story from beginning to end, or do you start with an idea and just go with it? And, as per your last response, how significant is rewriting to you?

Paul

[DavidOppegaard]

Each book is a little different, I guess, but usually I start with an idea and try to wind it as tight as I can (a tried and true sci-fi method).  With The Suicide Collectors, I started with the idea of trying to come up with a new version of the apocalypse, that of a suicide plague (this was in 2004, long before The Happening came and sucked the life from its unfortunate viewers). With Wormwood, Nevada I was more interested in the idea of a small town's personality and how that could change, depending on the event.  I use a barebones plot outline that changes frequently during the early drafts.

I rewrite extensively, alternating between editing on the computer and editing a paper manuscript.  I find each method brings something different to the process.  If I could, I'd also edit the book after its been bound in hardcover.  I find that something happens between editing the galleys and binding the book that usually makes me wish I could take one more whack at it.

[pen21]

I ordered the book from bn.com. I called today since I didn't get the ship email. They said they have stock now and will ship it, sounds like today.

I called my local Barnes and Noble, they could order but it would take 4 or 5 days.

I will be reading the book. But won't get it til maybe next week.

Bummer.

[DavidOppegaard]

No worries. I'm going to keep checking this message board for the rest of the month and I'll respond to any comments or questions that come my way. 

[DavidOppegaard]

Hi everyone!  I just got back from the publication reading of Wormwood, Nevada here in St. Paul, MN, and I'm still feeling the love.  We had a good turnout, almost exactly a year after the release of my first novel The Suicide Collectors.  It's a strange thing, releasing your second book.  You're not quite a hardened writing veteran yet, but gone is a good portion of that "golly gee" feeling you have from your first book. Your friends and family expect you to be published writer now, it's now longer this totally stunning development after years and years of writing in the dark.  Still, it was awesome, and like every reading, I'm totally grateful for the support and love of many and stunned that I get to do this for a living.

Also, I came back to good review of the book on Book Reporter.com.  Paul brought up the book's PW Review earlier and I guess all you can say is, that's one person's opinion.  I've learned that since you can't control reviews the best you can do is take what you need from them, if anything, and keep bopping along.  If you get too up or down you'll be emotionally exhausted right quick.  The worst part about a lame PW review is the fact that it gets plastered on pages where I'm trying to sell the book (like B & N, Amazon, etc.) and some people view it as gospel, without giving the book a chance themselves.

Here's an except from the full review:

"WORMWOOD, NEVADA is my first introduction to David Oppegaard’s work. It is a haunting novel with a vivid setting and memorable characters, a story of cosmic love, loss and yearning. While I haven’t read his previous book, THE SUICIDE COLLECTORS, I’ve added it to my reading list now."

[paulgoatallen]

David:

Funny how you mention the significance – or lack thereof – of books reviews. I just posted a blog over on Unabashedly Bookish about that very topic, entitled – Do-Book-Reviews-and-Book-Reviewers-Really-Matter?. The comments were realy interesting. It seems as though most people take reviews from places like PW with a grain of salt....

If you want to comment over on the blog, that would be great to have an opinion from a writer's perspective!

Paul

[paulgoatallen]

The reason that I enjoy reading your work, David, is because of its unconventionality. Your novels aren't structured in the formulaic way most novels are.... Take Wormwood, Nevada – as I was reading it, I had no idea what was coming next. There was no real "rising action" nor any kind of neat resolution at the book's conclusion. But that's why I love reading you. Your novels aren't fluff – they leave the reader deep in contemplation. And that's a great thing.... Lots of existential stuff here.

Like this excerpt: "You know, I don't think the world is actually going to end anytime soon. That's the scary part, actually. We're going to keep living and time will keep on ticking and when we finally punch out, life will go on without us..."

And isn't that the motif of the entire story in a way? The meteor falling to Earth in a fury of light and sound only to be forgotten a few weeks later... isn't that a symbol for our lives? We live a mayfly existence and then we're gone; our lives are meaningless in the grand scheme of things.... just like that iron nickel meteor crashing in Nevada.

I also liked the dichotomy between all of the excitement of a meteor falling in the middle of a small town versus our boring, evey day existence. "...trying to take all of the disappointment in..." Some of the people of Wormwood wanted nothing more than to believe in the existence of aliens, prophecies about the end of the world, etc. because it gave their lives some kind of reason, motivation to go on living...

I'm curious, David, what has been the feedback concerning the conclusion of Wormwood, Nevada? It's very unexpected....

Paul

[paulgoatallen]

By the way, I too have a signed picture of Leonard Nimoy....

[paulgoatallen]

SPOILER ALERT

One last thing about the underlying theme here..... because I'm trying to put it all together in my head. The two married protagionists, Anna and Tyler, are searching for something in their lives. They are in search of some kind of fulfillment....

The residents of Wormwood, Nevada collectively seem to be waiting for something as well... something to give meaning to their lives.

Tyler's brother, Cody, simply disappeared years earlier – creating a hole in his and his family's lives.

The meteor created a hole in Wormwood...

It even seems as though the aliens are looking for something (home).There is a lot of searching in this novel – and lots of literal and allegorical holes....

What's the philosophical message here?

Paul

[DavidOppegaard]

Great observations, Paul.  Here's my attempt at a reply:

1. "I'm curious, David, what has been the feedback concerning the conclusion of Wormwood, Nevada? It's very unexpected...."

I haven't gotten much feedback, because the book is so new.  My circle of readers loved it, and I felt it was an inevitable conclusion, just as I felt the ending of The Suicide Collectors was inevitable.  The Suicide Collectors got a strong "you love it or you don't" reaction, and I liked that, even if it didn't make me popular with every reader (especially bloggers, for some reason.  Most "professional" reviewers seemed to like the ending).  I do like the idea that a reader doesn't know what's coming, and can still feel surprise at the end of my books. I'm trying to do something new with my work, and that includes fresh ideas at plotting.  I feel if you're not stretching yourself out as a writer you're pretty much wasting your time.  This attitude will probably keep me off the best seller lists for the foreseeable future.

2.  Awesome Spock photo!

3.  "There is a lot of searching in this novel – and lots of literal and allegorical holes....What's the philosophical message here?"

I'm not going to answer that head on, I'd prefer the reader to figure that out for themselves.  I will say there is a lot of loneliness in Wormwood, and the world in general, but that loneliness paradoxically unifies us sentient beings at the same time.  People need to allow themselves to truly feel pain in this world to also fully appreciate its beauty.  I guess that sounds kind of Buddhist, now that I think about it.

[paulgoatallen]

---

DavidOppegaard wrote:

3.  "There is a lot of searching in this novel – and lots of literal and allegorical holes....What's the philosophical message here?"

I'm not going to answer that head on, I'd prefer the reader to figure that out for themselves.  I will say there is a lot of loneliness in Wormwood, and the world in general, but that loneliness paradoxically unifies us sentient beings at the same time.  People need to allow themselves to truly feel pain in this world to also fully appreciate its beauty.  I guess that sounds kind of Buddhist, now that I think about it.

---

David:

Thanks for that, I think. I really like this statement – "...that loneliness paradoxically unifies us sentient beings at the same time.  People need to allow themselves to truly feel pain in this world to also fully appreciate its beauty."

So, the conclusion of Wormwood, Nevada, was a kind of happy ending after all, or at least an enlightened one.... for both the humans and aliens involved.

Paul

[DavidOppegaard]

To clarify, I was NOT being ironic when I said "great observations, Paul".  The internet is tricky like that; you think people can here your voice, but what's written are only cold words on a page, open to interpretation.  

SEMI-SPOILER ALERT:

Yes, I think WN's ending is very positive .  If the main question I asked in my first book was "why bother to live?", the question I'm mulling over in Wormwood is "why bother to love?"  I feel Anna answers this question for herself and so achieves a little peace at last.

[pen21]

The book came! It was hard to put down, darn daughter came home from college for a couple days.

I have skipped over some of the posts, don't want to spoil the story for me.

But I will be back to comment.

I will say it has grabbed my attention and was hard to put down.

pen21

[DavidOppegaard]

By the way everyone, I have a blog where I post book news and my random thoughts on writing.

Click here for pics of the publication reading for Wormwood, Nevada!

[pen21]

OK I have finished the book and caught up on the posts.

**Spoilers**

The ending, it had me going in one direction and then she stayed.

Anna seemed very frustrated in her life, trying to live up to the beauty queen standard. They were hints all through the book about her life and how it related to being a beauty queen. But did she have more depth than that, was she just being hard on herself for a life she choose. Tyler who came to Wormwood to start teaching in a small town, what was he seeking. Just concentrating on these 2 characters, isn't it "normal" to try to figure out what you left and where your life is leading. Did the meteor and the visitors change that? I am left trying to figure that out.

The meteor had the most impact on Mr. Diaz. The meteor became his entire life. Was the meteor affecting him? Or was the impact on a change in his everyday life the cause of his sitting by the crater?

The fact that the Visitors weren't landing to make contact, but were leaving to go home was a nice twist. You know, why do we think that all aliens just want to come visit us?

[paulgoatallen]

---

pen21 wrote:

OK I have finished the book and caught up on the posts.

**Spoilers**

The ending, it had me going in one direction and then she stayed.

Anna seemed very frustrated in her life, trying to live up to the beauty queen standard. They were hints all through the book about her life and how it related to being a beauty queen. But did she have more depth than that, was she just being hard on herself for a life she choose. Tyler who came to Wormwood to start teaching in a small town, what was he seeking. Just concentrating on these 2 characters, isn't it "normal" to try to figure out what you left and where your life is leading. Did the meteor and the visitors change that? I am left trying to figure that out.

The meteor had the most impact on Mr. Diaz. The meteor became his entire life. Was the meteor affecting him? Or was the impact on a change in his everyday life the cause of his sitting by the crater?

The fact that the Visitors weren't landing to make contact, but were leaving to go home was a nice twist. You know, why do we think that all aliens just want to come visit us?

---

Pen:

Great comments. Even though I read this book a while ago, I'm STILL digesting the ending. What David write seems significant as far as the "message" goes....

"Yes, I think WN's ending is very positive .  If the main question I asked in my first book was "why bother to live?", the question I'm mulling over in Wormwood is "why bother to love?"  I feel Anna answers this question for herself and so achieves a little peace at last."

Paul

[pen21]

Suicide Collectors will be delivered this week. I won't get started on it right away.

But I am looking forward to it. I will have to find the thread on here to see what everyone was saying.

***Spoiler**

Back to Wormwood. One of the things that struck me as I read the book is how well the little town handled having such a major event happen. Obviously they had all the media attention, at least for awhile. I am sure there was more media attention after the visitors. But Anna and Tyler seemed ready to continue with their lives. Paul, I am still mulling over if Anna found peace, I think it could go either way. Anna may have found peace at the end, or she is settling for what she has now and will still dream of the beauty queen.

I still wonder from events in the book if the meteor triggered her nightmares and unhappiness. The meteor seemed to affect Tyler to the point that he took it.

I like having a book that leaves you with more questions to think about and guess what will happen next. For me it is good that it is not tied up in a bow at the end.

pen12