What are the odds? It was about a decade ago when I hatched the idea for
Womb: a novel in utero and set to
write a novel from the most unique and unusual point of view I could imagine.
In fact, look back at this blog post from 2007, in which I invite
readers to come to the first public reading from my novel-in-utero-in-progress,
Womb.
Most pregnancies take nine months. It’s taken nine years for this book
to see birth. In part due to revisions, partly due to multi-year spells with
the manuscript waiting on the back burner. And that pesky detail of finding the
right agent and publisher at the right time.
So imagine my surprise when, just months after I got my book deal with
Merge Publishing for Womb, I read
about another novel narrated from within the womb—by none other than acclaimed,
award-winning novelist Ian McEwan!
Ian McEwan is a
living legend, and I’ve enjoyed his work very much over the years. But my mood
sank when I found out that his Nutshell
was being published in fall 2016, about half a year before my own Womb: a novel in utero. I wondered: will
readers think I’m a copycat, even though I conceived this brainchild so many
years ago?
Then, perhaps because I tend to try to focus on the positive, I
reconsidered. Maybe having a literary powerhouse like Ian McEwan publish a book
similar to mine is a good thing for a smaller book with a smaller press.
Perhaps people who enjoy McEwan’s Nutshell
will discover my Womb. Just as one
zombie movie makes way for another, perhaps Nutshell
will crack open the pathway for Womb
to find a larger audience.
I haven’t read Nutshell yet. I
look forward to reading it after Womb
is published. As reviewers compare the two books, I hope Ian McEwan looks
forward to reading Womb, too.
Learn more about Ian McEwan’s Nutshell
by reading the Ron Charles review (not to mention the entertaining video).
Labels: #fiction, #IanMcEwan, #inutero, #Nutshell, #Review, #womb, #wombliving