Full Contact Nerd Interviews

Full Contact Nerd Interviews


Jonathan Lethem interview about his latest science fiction novel “The Arrest” (Ecco, 2020)

November 15, 2020

Jonathan Lethem interview about his latest science fiction novel “The Arrest”
Check out this book here   https://amzn.to/32Mys8m
Interview Timeline
Jonathan Lethem is a prolific short story and novel writer. He’s written eleven novels and his latest is The Arrest a science fiction novel about a semi-dystopian society. We spoke about the novel, about society, and about his writing process.
0:32 – Jonathon talks about why he wrote The Arrest. He talks about setting it in Maine.
3:30 – Jonathon talks about the protagonist, setting, and conflict in the novel.
7:09 – Jonathon expands on why he chose to set the novel in Maine.
8:46 – Jonathon goes deeper into the “post-apocalyptic” setting of the book.
13:00 – Jonathon talks about how people communicate in his novel.
14:00 – Jonathon talks about growing up in an apocalyptic atmosphere.
15:35 – Jonathon talks about freedom and communication in his world.
16:51 – Jonathon talks about the research he did for the novel.
18:34 – Jonathon talks about things he learned about Maine.
20:35 – Jonathon talks about micro-differences in communities.
21:46 – Jonathon talks about the feel of the book.
22:39 – Jonathon talks about the musical feel to the book.
25:15 – Jonathon talks about one character being a script doctor and about his various interests.
27:19 – Jonathon talks about being a big reader.
27:53 – Jonathon talks about how he completes his novels.
30:07 – Jonathon talks about how his writing has changed over time.
32:06 – Jonathon started his career thinking he would be a painter.
34:01 – Jonathon talks about editing The Arrest and changing the novel’s POV.
35:16 – Jonathon talks about what changing the POV did for the story.
37:11 – Jonathon talks about growing up being cautioned about the future.
38:58 – Jonathon talks about the adaptation of books into films.
40:45 – Jonathon talks about his approach to films and Hollywood.
44:10 – Jonathon talks about short story writing.
44:31 – Jonathon can be found at JonathanLethem.com
Links of interest
https://amzn.to/32Mys8m
https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-arrest-jonathan-lethem?variant=32117464694818
http://jonathanlethem.com/
Contact Information
For more “Full Contact Nerd” please follow me at crisalvarez.com, on Facebook at CrisAlvarezFCN, on youtube at Cris Alvarez on twitter @CrisAlvarezFCN, on Instagram @crisalvarezscifi, and on Apple Podcasts / Google Podcasts / Stitcher / Spotify for the podcast. Please see historyrabbithole.com for a list of my dozen or so blogs and podcasts. You’re sure to find something you like.
Guests: Jonathan Lethem
Host: Cris Alvarez
Tags: Books, audio interviews, author, podcast, Ecco, science fiction,