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Meet David Schmahmann, author of The Double Life of Alfred Buber
http://www.bookpleasures.com/websitepublisher/articles/3529/1/Meet-David-Schmahmann-author-of-The-Double-Life-of-Alfred-Buber/Page1.html
James Broderick Ph.D

Reviewer James Broderick, Ph.D: James is an associate professor of English and journalism at New Jersey City University. A former newspaper reporter and editor, he is the author of six non-fiction books, and the novel Stalked. His latest book is Greatness Thrust Upon Them, a collection of interviews with Shakespearean actors across America. Follow Here To Listen To An Interview With James Broderick.







 
By James Broderick Ph.D
Published on May 26, 2011
 




James Broderick, one of Bookpleasures' reviewers, recently spoke with David Schmahmann, author of The Double Life of Alfred Buber, a novel about a middle-aged New England lawyer who harbors a secret desire for a teenaged barmaid in Bangkok.


                  

James Broderick, one of Bookpleasures' reviewers, recently spoke with David Schmahmann, author of The Double Life of Alfred Buber, a novel about a middle-aged New England lawyer who harbors a secret desire for a teenaged barmaid in Bangkok. Schmahmann, who was born in Durban, South Africa, has studied in India and Israel and worked in Burma. His first novel, Empire Settings, received the John Gardner Book Award, and his publications include a short story in The Yale Review and articles on legal issues. He practices law in Boston, and lives in Weston, Massachusetts, where he spoke to BookPleasures by phone.

James:

Are you a writer who happens to practice law? Or a lawyer who happens to write novels?

David:

It’s changed over time. When I was young, when I was in law school – which I didn’t particularly enjoy very much – I always thought that practicing law would be a temporary thing. I knew then I’d like to write novels. But once you practice law, you start to get comfortable, make some money and you tend to let things slide. I let things slide for far too long. But inside, I always thought of myself as a writer. For many years, I thought of kicking into Plan B, living the writing life.

James:

Given the demands of your legal career, and your family life, is it difficult to live the writer’s life?

David:

I have two young children that I absolutely adore, daughters who are seven and nine years old. My family is my priority. I wrote my first work over a long period of time, when I wasn’t even married yet. I took my time, writing it in bits and pieces. After it was published, I left the law firm I was with and I began consulting. That’s what I do now. I try to keep all the balls in the air. I try to be elastic, but the thing that is most important is spending time with my kids. But I’m very efficient, if I can say so, in my writing now….I have never had “writer’s block.” I read about these people who stare at the blank sheet of paper and they simply can’t write. That’s not my problem. My problem is finding enough time.

James:

Where did you get the idea for The Double Life of Alfred Buber?

David:

The genesis of the character rests in my own experiences and observations when I worked in Southeast Asia. I used to see all these men who, by all appearances are highly successful in their Western countries, who show up prowling for women, looking for sex, yes, but also looking for indeterminate things. “What brought them here?” I used to wonder. It can’t be just lust. I set out to try and understand it. As I wrote it, the character emerged quite quickly

James:

For all his insecurities and lust, one could say there’s a kind of heroism about this middle-aged man choosing to pursue his fantasy.

David:

I think what’s heroic about him, in the context of the book, is how honest he is with himself. He doesn’t try to justify his actions. He doesn’t hurt anyone. He tries to persuasively explain what he’s doing. I think that his honest, rapier self-analysis redeems him.

James:

Do you think women and men will react differently to your protagonist and his desire for this teenaged Bangkok barmaid?

David:

In the end, I hope everyone reads it with a certain amount of empathy. Alfred Buber is trying to master his own desires. One woman who has read the book said she felt fully engaged and sympathetic with the man and his dilemma, and the flawed way he went about trying to gratify his desires. But there’s no doubt that men get it. As one man said to me after reading it, it’s almost painful to read. I think a lot of men – so far as I can tell – feel the yearnings and insecurities that characterize Buber’s interior life.

James:

Characters’ interior lives seem to be the focus of your work. As a writer, are you more interested in character than plot?

David:

Yes, yes. Believe it or not, I recently unearthed a report card from when I was a child. It said “During storytime, David is much more interested in stories about interesting characters than in what actually happens.” I’m not really into mysteries. I’m much more interested in why people do things. In my books I try to explore people’s individual histories and their inaccurate memories, the way people sometimes misremember things. I find that much more interesting than action.

James:

Buber has been getting some great advanced reviews. How does it make you feel to see your work praised so highly?

David:

It’s flattering, of course. I do the very best that I can. I’m gratified that people like the book. Getting published is a very difficult thing. And then getting noticed once you’re published is a very difficult thing. One is always grateful to find readers who like one’s work.

Click Here To Read James's Review Of The Double Life of Alfred Buber