editions of SEUIL
At over 80 years old, the author of World according to Garp or from God’s Work, Devil’s Part signs a 15th novel which is worth its weight in gold.
It seems that John Irving has a weakness for hotels. A little over 40 years after his famous Hôtel New Hampshire – which was adapted for the cinema in 1984 with Rob Lowe, Jodie Foster and Beau Bridges in the credits – he signs The ghosts of the Hotel Jeromea book of almost 1000 pages that took him six years to write.
But unlike the hotel The New Hampshire Hotelthat of Ghosts of the Hotel Jerome really exists. In Aspen, Colorado. And according to rumors, it is the most haunted building in the region.
John Irving returned there in the hope of finally being able to witness a spectral manifestation.
“To put all the chances on my side, I chose to go there outside of the ski season, when the terrain is too muddy for cycling or hiking and when most of the shops are closed,” specifies the writer. American-Canadian, who we contacted at his home in Toronto. I knew that the Hotel Jerome would then be practically deserted. Apart from my room and that of my assistant, only two others were rented. Over the years, many people have seen ghosts at this hotel. But me, nothing. My assistant, on the other hand, heard someone humming in her room. Except she didn’t call me because it happened at one in the morning…” Too bad!
An unusual family
In 1941, the young Rachel Brewster had an experience there that would be impossible to forget. A ghost? Not quite.
Coming to Colorado to participate in the slalom events of the United States Alpine Ski Championships, she will leave the state not with a medal in her pocket, but with a punch in her drawer! A heresy for the time, children born out of wedlock being very frowned upon. As for the father, mystery. Basically, he will be the ghost. Because as he grows up, his son, Adam, will not have the opportunity to hear about it, and even less to meet him. As if this man had never existed!
But even without a father, Adam will not be pitied. Between a mother who is a ski fanatic who is truly capable of seeing ghosts (and not just those of the Hotel Jerome!), a grandmother who is a literature buff who will read her the entirety of Moby-Dicka grandfather completely in the West, an outspoken lesbian cousin, two playful uncles and a very small father-in-law who is a wrestling enthusiast who would have preferred to be a woman, he will not often have the time to ‘annoy.
“If you look at the stepfathers in my novels, they are always good characters,” explains John Irving. I also had a wonderful stepfather, who my mother married when I was six. My affinity for women’s rights came later, in my early teens. My mother then worked in a service advising young pregnant women and she came home with heartbreaking stories. My plea in favor of the right to abortion therefore starts from there. As for LGBTQ rights, they are part of my family life. My younger brother and sister were gay, and in the small New Hampshire community where we grew up, there was discrimination and homophobia against people. gays or lesbians. Since then, it has been a cause that I have defended strongly.”
From screenplay to novel
Guided by the colorful pen of John Irving, Adam will understand at a very young age that there are many ways to love, the man-woman model being far from being the only one. A good thing for us, since it will give rise to sometimes hilarious scenes. And once he is well established in life – just like John Irving, he will be a screenwriter – Adam will decide to find out more about his own family history by going to the Hotel Jerome, where it all began for him. The idea? With a little luck, maybe he will be able to discover the identity of his biological father…
“At the beginning of the novel, the observations that we can read about the profession of screenwriter are based on reality,” adds John Irving. For example, it is true that films that have not been made are likely to haunt those who wrote them for a long time. Seeing so much work get rejected is truly heartbreaking. But I am also a novelist. So I can rewrite my unshot films to make novels. A child of the ball or Avenue of Mysteries were firstly scenarios. The ghosts of the Hotel Jerome also and I must say that now that it has become a book, I am quite happy with the result.
The ghosts of the Hotel Jerome
John Irving
Éditions du Seuil
992 pages
Release scheduled in bookstores on January 20
John Irving soon in town!
John Irving will be at the Raffin bookstore, rue Saint-Hubert, on Saturday, January 25 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Unfortunately, he can no longer sign signings due to chronic hand pain. But he will be happy to take a photo with you!
Courtesy
