
Why would anybody in their right mind want to write a book about getting crabs?
Out of necessity, in a roundabout way. About three and a half years ago, I had recently finished a novel and, while trying to place it with a publisher, needed some other project to work on. I was too exhausted from the novel to start a new one. What I needed was something different, something short, something self-contained that would occupy me for a while. So I started writing stories from my life. That time I wrecked my friendâs car. That time I stayed at the Waldorf. Eventually those stories coalesced around one in particular: that time I got the crabs.
Once I was finished writing âHow to Get the Crabs,â I realized it had done more than just occupy my time. Writing about the crabs helped to clear my head of the novel so that I could focus on the next one. Who would have thought pubic lice could make for such a good palate cleanser?
How does Rick, your fellow crab-getter, feel about the ordeal?
Poor Rick has never been able to forget it, though not because it was such an ordeal. Heâs never been able to forget it because, whenever Rick is around or just comes up in conversation, my dad will immediately tell âthe crabs story.â On Christmas Eve this year, I happened to mention Rickâs name, and my father, with my whole family present, asked everyone to quiet down. Then, as though reciting ââTwas the Night Before Christmas,â he began, âSnowden and Rick were living at the beach, and this one weekend they said they were feeling kind of itchy . . . â
Why did you choose to write the book in second-person?
The second-person point of view has some great benefits. The use of âyouâ makes the reader complicit with the narrative. Thereâs the âyouâ that is me, the person doing everything on the page, and thereâs the âyouâ that is the reader, the person who is being addressed. Every story, fiction or nonfiction, requires a level of empathy from the reader. The reader needs to feel what itâs like to be the protagonist. What second-person does is literalize that relationship.
Another benefit of second-person is that it allows me, the writer, to think of myself, the subject of the book, as a character. Iâm not an âI.â Iâm a âyou.â That helped me to keep from flinching when telling these stories. I could reveal the worst aspects of my personality, thoughts, and actions, things I might have glossed over in regular first-person. Second-person made it easier to be harder on myself.
Did any books serve as models for you?
In general there are two types of second-person usage. The first type features a âyouâ that is a specific character. Lorrie Mooreâs Self-Help, Jay McInerneyâs Bright Lights, Big City, and Junot Diazâs Drown and This is How You Lose Her utilize this kind of âyou.â You are a specific woman having an affair with a married man. You are a specific drug-addled fact-checker. You are a specific guy who habitually cheats on his girlfriend.
The second type of second-person features a âyouâ that is more of a hodge-podge of characters. Colson Whiteheadâs The Colossus of New York utilizes this type. You are a blend of the different kinds of people who arrive in New York. You are a blend of the different kinds of people strolling through Central Park.
The latter type can be effective, but I tend to prefer the former. It allows you to tell an actual story as opposed to a series of anecdotal details. So Iâd say Moore, McInerney, and Diaz were the biggest models for me. I havenât had a chance to read it yet, but I think Mohsin Hamidâs novel How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia uses that type of second-person as well. Also, if anyoneâs interested, thereâs even a movie, Blast of Silence, with second-person voice-over.
What do you want to get better at as a writer?
Although there are some things Iâll always want to get better atâwriting clean sentences, building narrative tensionâI think what I need the most improvement on is eliciting genuine emotion in readers. Making people feel something is an incredibly difficult thing to do. What makes it so difficult is that thereâs no schematic on how to create empathy. Nonetheless, if a writer can pull it off, if this complete stranger can make some person theyâve never met suddenly feel overwhelming sadness or joy through nothing but ink on paper, then that is sort of a miracle, donât you think?
So, in other words, I want to get better at stirring readersâthat, and making sure never to put myself in a situation after which I could write an essay titled âHow to Get Scabies.âÂ