![]() ![]() “She phoned me and she said, ‘How do you know what I think?’ ” Bergen recalls. Still, when he finished the novel he gave it to his mother-in-law to read, out of courtesy. They share some biographical details - like Hope, Doris was born in 1930, and her husband owned a car dealership - yet, says Bergen, “at some point I crossed that line where the novel took on a life of its own, and Hope Koop wasn’t Doris.” In this case, Bergen was curious to find out more about his mother-in-law, Doris, after whom Hope is (partly) modelled and to whom the book is dedicated. “To me, what drives a novel is the curiosity behind the character, and the depths that you want to find in that character.” “What fascinates me as a writer is the stuff underneath,”Bergen says. I couldn’t make more strife in her life than there was.” Yet interspersed with the mundane details of Hope’s life are detours, some subtle, some significant, that, in sum, transform Hope Koop into one of the most complex characters to grace the page this year. I couldn’t change it to make more happen. “I couldn’t change it to make it more sexy. ![]() ![]() “Even to my own mind, and I’m the writer, it sounds dull,” Bergen admits. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Manage Print Subscription / Tax Receipt. ![]()
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