Naleighna Kai ’ s Chocolate Chats featuring
Lolita Files
NK : What made you draw the parallels for Child of God from Shakespeare ’ s Hamlet .
Lolita Files : Shakespeare is my favorite writer ( followed very , very closely by Toni Morrison ). He wrote a lot of tragedies , so I kind of had a writer ’ s ear for it . I also love Greek mythology , which is filled with tragedy . Child of God was partly inspired by a very tragic story in Greek mythology called The Fall of the House of Atreus , about a curse that runs through a family for generations and the family is only healed after the curse is purged .
Shakespeare ’ s plays are timeless . There are things in them that can absolutely apply today . He ’ s definitely worth giving a go . I wanted Child of God to be a tip of the hat to him , her , as well as a story in Greek mythology I was fascinated by , and ( this may seem odd ) but also Flaubert ’ s “ Madame Bovary .” Madame Bovary is an extraordinary story , albeit tragic . It ’ s about a woman who bucks against societal convention and pursues her own passions , for better or worse .
Child of God was my Magnus opus . I later learned that it was given to Toni Morrison and , after she read it , she called the bookseller ( who was also her friend ) who sent it to her and said : “ I can die now . There ’ s someone to whom I can pass the torch .”
NK How on earth did you come up with such a complex character as Sukie ? ( I never understood the term , “ Awwww , Sukie Sukie now ” until I read your novel .
Lolita Files : The name Sukie was a tip of the hat to the very first novel by an African- American author that I read . Reading that book made a huge impact on me and let me know there was a space for us as writers and storytellers . I think I was thirteen or fourteen at the time . The book was “ Daddy Was A Number Runner ” by Louise Meriwether and Sukie was one of the two main characters — one of two young girls — in a story set in Harlem in the 40 ’ s ( I believe it was the 40 ’ s ). I got a chance to tell Ms . Meriwether what an impact that book had on me .