Me: Well, it is absolutely a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Dubus. First of, I'd like to tell you how much I like your work, and give you the honor of knowing we named our blog after you.
Dubus: Why, thank you. I've always wanted a blog named after me. It's great to know that young people are appreciating my stories.
Me: Very much so. Today, I'd like to discuss "Killings."
Dubus: (As he chuckles to himself...) Ah yes, that's a good one.
Me: I agree. Once I started reading, I couldn't put it down. The storyline is so dramatic, starting with the first sentence! I love the way you aren't afraid to get right into topics that normally make people shiver. Why do you choose to write about such uncomfortable topics?
Dubus: That's just the thing. For me, these stories are not at all uncomfortable. I believe that we should really focus in on and try to understand the evil in our world. Although we often see war and destruction on TV, our society does not like to talk about our troubles. However, I have learned the most through my troubles, and find beauty in struggles. My goal is to break down the hesitation of looking deeper into evil, and make people more comfortable with talking about it. The more we talk about it, the more solutions and blessings can come out of suffering. That's why I like to jump in and shove violence , sadness, and sin onto the page.
Me: Wow. I can say that when I read a story like "Killings," I'm much more intrigued than, let's say, a story about a wedding. It forces me to think, and raises tons of questions.
Dubus: Well good, questions are good.
Me: Then maybe you can answer some of mine.
Dubus: Not every question needs an answer, but you can try me anyway.
Me: Okay, did you want Matt to kill Strout? Because by the end of the story, after seeing Strout's side, I was hoping he wouldn't, and yet other people were cheering Matt on!
Dubus: For the purposes of the story, yes, I wanted Matt to kill Strout. After all, I could've just made him change his mind. Reiterating the point I made before, I like to not always have a "happy ending." Whether or not it was the right thing to do is for you to figure out.
Me: Thanks... I guess the discussion that provoked was pretty interesting. But there is something else that we weren't sure about. How did you mean to portray Mary Ann, and Matt's relationship with her? We couldn't decide if she was meant to be an innocent woman overcoming a bad relationship, or a woman with evil intentions trying to break up her family.
Dubus: Well, I can't say it was either of those extremes. I'd be more interested to hear what you thought than what I could tell you.
Me: Reading it the first time through we all saw her as innocent, probably because we liked Frank and didn't want to believe his girlfriend was evil. But then we looked through the text again, and saw how she wasn't exactly an angel. Also, Matt seemed to take an odd liking to her, which seemed to prevent him from breaking up his son's relationship, which would have prevented all this from happening.
Dubus: Now you see, isn't that better than anything that I could've told you?
Me: I guess. There's one more thing that is really bothering me that I hope you can give me a less vague answer. Why did you end it the way you did? Why don't we get any clue as to how the whole story resolves. In your mind, does Matt overcome his grief and realize his wrongdoings? Does he turn himself in? Does he go through life denying that he's a murderer? Is he miserable forever? Do he and his wife get a new outlook on life?
Dubus: Obviously, I ended it there for a reason. I didn't just forget to finish the story. I didn't want you to know all that information. I can only give you a little hint. The story isn't focusing on the outcomes or a conversion in Matt's character. It focuses more on the process of grieving- the emotions, thoughts, and actions that go with it. It should bring up questions of morality. There are many themes you can get out of "Killings" if you read closely, but I want you to find them. If I told you, what's the point of your discussion groups and blogs? Or even reading the stories for that matter?
Me: Well, thank you for your time. Seeing as I'm not going to get much out of you, I might as well get back to Dubie's Groupies.
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I really liked this interview Kelly. The questions you ask are good, as well as the response you have Dubus giving you (especially not answering the questions on the story but allowing it to speak for itself). I also liked what you had him say in these lines:
"For me, these stories are not at all uncomfortable. I believe that we should really focus in on and try to understand the evil in our world. Although we often see war and destruction on TV, our society does not like to talk about our troubles. However, I have learned the most through my troubles, and find beauty in struggles. My goal is to break down the hesitation of looking deeper into evil, and make people more comfortable with talking about it. The more we talk about it, the more solutions and blessings can come out of suffering. That's why I like to jump in and shove violence , sadness, and sin onto the page.'
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