But I trust that just as we discuss war in endless numbers of ways, many that have nothing to do with the real nature of war, and it's all right, in the end we come to an understanding of what war means to us, so with the Holocaust. Now, what each writer's intent might be depends on each writer. always in the same way, in the mode of historical realism, we are missing out on hidden meanings. I believe we have to apply all the tools of art to the Holocaust so that we might get to all the meaning it might yield. I look forward to reading Beatrice & Virgil.ġ1:15 Yann Martel: Good question, Micah. Is there an end goal in mind when authors use narrative to discuss the Holocaust? I don't mean personally, but in a collective sense, are authors working towards some larger goal to explain the Holocaust? And to what end is it entertainment?ġ1:13 So gardening might be a better metaphor rather than love. So it starts with a single germ and then carefully tending turns it into a full garden. And onwards until I have all the material needed for a novel. I do research, which gives me further ideas, which leads me to further research. I very much believe in the writer doing research, to get out of the trap of his/her small mind. Then starts a lengthy process of thinking, thinking, thinking in which I go over the idea, looking at it from every angle. So I quickly tend to it, writing it down so I don't forget it. A story for me does start with a moment of inspiration, a germ, that strikes me as wealthy with possibilities. With a good story, the love just keeps on growing. But no, not quite, because true love can fade and come to be just fleeting lust. Martel, how do your stories come to you? when you have inspiration, how do you know that one idea is a 'good' idea? Is it a feeling akin to that which people often attribute to 'true love'? The idea that 'I saw her and I just knew'?ġ1:11 Yann Martel: Good comparison, that, with 'true love'. It's a thoughtful process, therefore, not a compulsive one.ġ1:07 And in a similar way with B & V: it helped me understand the Holocaust and how we represent great tragedy. So in writing Life of Pi, for example, I came to understand how and what I feel about faith and religion.

I get a sense of satisfaction in seeing life through the prism of stories.

I 'have' to write in the sense that it's my way of understanding life. If it were, I'd have written more books that I have, only four in 20 years. Do you feel a compulsion to write? Is it really something you feel that you have no choice but to do?ġ1:07 Yann Martel: No, it's not a compulsion. Near the beginning of the book, Henry mentions that he 'has' to write which, he suggests, is a shared characteristics of writers. I've started reading Beatrice and Virgil and am enjoying it.

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