Monday, February 03, 2025

Q&A with Jacqueline Faber

From my Q&A with Jacqueline Faber, author of The Department:
How much work does your title do to take readers into the story?

Like all departments, the eponymous department of my novel hints at some kind of authority, bureaucracy, a place where boundaries might be transgressed. But it holds back as much as it gives away. Something has gone very wrong in this academic setting, but it’s not quite what you think.

What's in a name?

There are two protagonists in The Department. Neil Weber and Lucia Vanotti. Neil’s name feels like a blank slate. A man who has yet to claim agency over his life. Lucia’s name bears within it a kind of indeterminacy. There’s a debate in chapter one over the proper way to pronounce it. Lu-see-ah or Lu- chia. She’s...[read on]
Visit Jacqueline Faber's website.

My Book, The Movie: The Department.

Q&A with Jacqueline Faber.

--Marshal Zeringue