Ken Capobianco's Blog - Posts Tagged "9-1-2-weeks-therapy"

In the novel, Michael discusses the meaning of the film "9 1/2 Weeks" with his therapist Dr. Hampton. Ever doubtful of himself, he asks if he is correct. Dr. Hampton says, "Michael, you have a master's degree in literature, and something tells me you have seen a lot of movies. You know there is no right or wrong answer there. It's how you interpret it based on the content." Now I'm going to make a confession here--Hampton's response is very loosely based on what I used to tell my students studying literature at Northeastern University. I would try to convince them that if they could support their theories of interpretation with specific textual references that add up to a valid interpretation of a short story or play, they would be on solid ground when writing papers. I bring this up because I've been engaged with a number of readers who are emailing or sending private messages or texts to me with interpretations of some of the themes, events, characters, and ideas in "Call Me Anorexic: The Ballad of a Thin Man" ("He blames himself for almost everything because..." "I think Michael might be gay" "There's gotta be a reason for all the body fluids--I think it's because..." "What's the deal with the Catholic stuff?"). It's fascinating to hear what readers are telling me. Sometimes, they are seeing things in the text that I didn't intend (and trust me, there's an intent for every line of dialogue, event, and pop culture reference). Some of the interpretations and theories are wonderfully insightful, and sometimes I'm asking the readers, " Huh? Okay, show me where you see that connection?" I end up seeing my own work in a different light. A few interpretations of what happens after the last page are...well, let's just say, fascinating (to put it mildly). Don't worry, I'm not giving away anything about the ending beyond the shark and whale both die. And no, there will not be a sequel. I'm not going to go fifty deeper, darker, hornier shades of anorexia. I'm really enjoying the feedback and how carefully everyone is reading--damn, I have smart, fast readers! It's been a fun first week or so, and I appreciate everyone being so engaged with the work. I'm sure there are many readers just beginning or somewhere in the in the five sections while some are waiting until they finish James Comey or Ronan Farrow or Jake Tapper or one of the 10,000 Netflix shows they've saved (I'm about to start "Berlin Babylon"). That's expected, but I appreciate all the readers chiming in so far and look forward to what everyone else has to say, even if it's "Dude, what the hell was that about?" Of course, the answer is, "About 409 pages."