JUSTIN FENECH mixes philosophy and travel writing in his exciting debut novel Too Many Sparrows in Zaragoza, which features the adventures the adventures of a Maltese psychologist in a magical Spanish city. The Malta Independent asked him about the writing process and what inspires him.
What is Too many Sparrows in Zaragoza about?
It’s about a ten-day trip to Zaragoza, as seen through the eyes of the main character, Nadi. Nadi is a Maltese woman, a psychologist, who happens to be quite bored with her life and work. In Zaragoza she stays with her old friend from university, Luis. Luis is working in Zaragoza as a journalist, but, as Nadi discovers, he is living an exciting, creative, and fascinating life. He has surrounded himself with Spanish eccentrics, who believe life is just one long play directed by the imagination. Nadi, naturally, immerses herself in Luis’ life and is blown away. The novel is a fictional story but it seeks to answer many real life questions – sometimes only fiction can answer the questions of non-fiction.
What made you decide to write it?
An idea. The idea that had up to that point dominated all my writing. The idea of Imaginationism, the idea of travelling through the mind. Being not quite as rich as I would like, I can only travel selectively, I can only see our beautiful world in small doses. But I love travel so much that I began travelling in other means. The Internet today provides so many opportunities for opening one’s eyes that with enough imagination one could have the whole world at their fingertips. So I wanted to write a novel that not only showcased people actually living out this lifestyle to the full, to explore its validity, implications and morality, but also I wanted to write a novel that put the idea into practice on an immersive scale. I have never been to Zaragoza, but thanks to the research I did, and a little help from my imagination, it was as if I did. I had explored a new city, which I came to love almost as much as the cities I had actually visited.
What was the inspiration behind the characters, events and plot?
The main inspiration behind the book was Spain itself. The novel would never have been written had I never been to Spain. The characters, especially the two main characters Nadi and Luis, are both extensions of myself, different fragments of my own individuality. The novel in a way is a thought experiment: if the extreme side of my character were to have its way, what would be in store for me? In fact, I got quite a bit of answers, but I’m not telling. Hopefully the reader could also get some answers from the thought experiment.
How hard was the writing process?
Writing is never hard. “There is nothing to writing. You just sit at the typewriter and bleed,” as Ernest Hemingway said. There is nothing better than the life of a writer, and I enjoyed it immensely: the research, the planning, the writing itself, and the well-earned relaxation afterwards. I wouldn’t change it for anything.
What are your expectations for it?
Superficially I am hoping the novel will help establish my name in the literary scene, to pave my way for my next novels. More profoundly I hope that it makes the readers think something they never thought of before. I hope it has some intellectual merit, apart from being an enjoyable journey.
How long does preparing and writing a novel take you?
For me the only similar thing between writing a poem and writing a novel is that the idea for them comes just as quickly. Preparing was merely a matter of a week fleshing out the original idea, creating the context and the backdrop. The writing took one blissful year.
Is writing your full-time occupation?
Not yet, but it is my ultimate ambition: to live off my ideas and my thoughts would be the greatest of privileges. But that is something that has to be earned, and the competition is tough. It’s not always fair, as sometimes you find yourself competing with authors looking to make a quick buck from some vampire romance or bondage thriller. But I will fight the good fight, and hope the natural selection of the literary world picks me out for survival.
What made you want to be a writer?
I have always wanted to be a writer, even when I didn’t know it. Writing is a great human adaptation that enables us to inform the people around us, to tell stories about what we’ve seen, and to excite others about what there is to be seen. I am inspired by the world we live in, from Spanish villages, to great rainforests, and everything in between. Sometimes the world is so complex that we find it hard to comprehend and as human beings we always want to feel a level of control. By writing, and reading, we can project our own ideas unto the world, and make some sense of all the beautiful chaos.
When did you start writing?
I started writing when I was around 16. Poetry was my first love and I would (and still do) write at least one poem every single day. The first work I did, if you could call it that, was very juvenile. It was called The Endless Residence, a three-part poetry book analyzing the good, the bad, and the personal of being born and raised in my hometown of Hamrun. It was horribly self-centred, but in my defence I was a teenager. I am prouder to say that my first published work is Too Many Sparrows in Zaragoza.
What has been the feedback so far?
What I have been most happy to hear so far, and I’ve heard it quite a bit, is people expressing their surprise at the fact I have never actually been to Zaragoza. That’s because I went into so much detail that people assume I must have seen the city to know it so well. Telling them that it was all done through research and the imagination feels like a vindication of the idea that conceived the novel.
Do you feel your works in some way contribute to the moral and character formation of those who read them?
I could only hope so. I do believe that literature has a very important role to play in influencing the way people behave, and writers should try to challenge their readers. I always like to think of Jurassic Park, the novel and the film, and how many palaeontologists it must have created from the minds of awed children. To think a mere book could do that! My book is full of moral explorations, good and bad, and I hope the reader can take something out of them, and learn something from them. For example is a one-night stand morally permissible? Yes, no, the novel provides different ideas, but leaves it up to the reader to ultimately decide.
How do you write?
As long as I have some music, a beer next to me, and my dog at my feet, I can write just about anywhere. Although I am sure my writing would improve tenfold if I could have all those three things whilst writing on a beach in the Cote d’Azur, or in a mountain lodge.
Are there any taboos you won’t deal with in your books?
Not at all, I don’t think there should be. I am not one for writing about taboo issues, but if I were to do it I wouldn’t do it for the sake of it. I would create a story that would help analyze a particular taboo. Why is it taboo? Is it always wrong? Should it be punishable? Would you do it under any circumstances? I think literature is the new philosophy.
Do you have an opinion on the developments in the reading world?
I am personally completely put off by the idea of Kindles and tablets for one simple reason: they are un-aesthetic. A book is not just a set of ideas, but its cover is an art form in itself. Books can be used to decorate a living room, especially old, unique books. What could a Kindle do? As for video-games I see them as a newer method of delivering fiction. They can still impress our imagination, and some video-games can have morally relevant stories that can be as thought-provoking as any book or film. I think they need to be taken more seriously, both by the public, and by their creators.
Any advice for aspiring novelists and writers?
Take writing seriously. If you want to create something merely for the sake of it, go graffiti a wall, or write something in your diary. If you want to entertain, become a comedian. If you want to change the world become a politician. But if you want to inspire, provoke, stimulate and change the lives of people around you, become a writer. Don’t forget to enjoy it as well. Don’t become a hermit, experience life, otherwise you have no right to re-create it.
Where can readers purchase your book from?
From most major online retailers: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Waterstones, The Book Depository, etc. It is available in all formats, including Kindle and ebooks – but I beg of you, buy a physical copy, it would please me to no end to be represented in someone’s personal library. The cover isn’t too bad either...
JUSTIN FENECH DETAILS
Age: 24
Hometown: Hamrun
Family: Charmed to spend my days with the artist Chloe Waterfield
First job: English teacher, Tour Guide, LSA
Hobbies: Collecting books and other rarities from my travels
Favourite literary genre: Non-fiction
Favourite authors: Ernest Hemingway, Carl Sagan, Fernando Pessoa, Richard Dawkins
Favourite book: The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
Favourite film: The Motorcycle Diaries
Favourite music: Spanish Civil War songs
Favourite trip: Valencia 2012
Last holiday: Peterborough, UK