Heather
asked
Tana French:
For weeks after I read one of your novels, I walk around saying "fair play" and swearing "sweet jaysus." You are greatly skilled in bringing your characters and Dublin alive for your readers. A new Tana French novel is gold in my hands. The Secret Place is set in a posh boarding school. Was it fun to work within the constraints of location, privilege, and the slang of youth? What were the challenges involved?
Tana French
Ah, that's only bleedin' deadly, so it is :-D
The slang of youth was *terrifying*. I think the heart of what it's like to be a teenager - the fever-pitch intensity, the vulnerability, the ferocious struggle to find a version of yourself that feels true *and* can exist in this complicated world - that stuff hasn't changed in the twenty years since I was a teenager. It was relatively easy to remember what that felt like.
The slang, on the other hand, has changed. I couldn't exactly have 2014 teenagers using 80s/90s slang - but nobody wants to be that cringeworthy middle-aged eejit who's desperately trying to be down with the kids and getting their slang all wrong. So I spent a lot of time lurking on messageboards for Irish teenagers, and a certain amount of time hanging around train stations when school was letting out, eavesdropping and presumably looking incredibly dodgy. Not that I think any of them noticed; when you're a teenager, some thirtysomething woman isn't even on your radar.
The slang of youth was *terrifying*. I think the heart of what it's like to be a teenager - the fever-pitch intensity, the vulnerability, the ferocious struggle to find a version of yourself that feels true *and* can exist in this complicated world - that stuff hasn't changed in the twenty years since I was a teenager. It was relatively easy to remember what that felt like.
The slang, on the other hand, has changed. I couldn't exactly have 2014 teenagers using 80s/90s slang - but nobody wants to be that cringeworthy middle-aged eejit who's desperately trying to be down with the kids and getting their slang all wrong. So I spent a lot of time lurking on messageboards for Irish teenagers, and a certain amount of time hanging around train stations when school was letting out, eavesdropping and presumably looking incredibly dodgy. Not that I think any of them noticed; when you're a teenager, some thirtysomething woman isn't even on your radar.
More Answered Questions
Colleen
asked
Tana French:
I have read all of your books and just finished The Secret Place. I loved it; as an educator pf adolescents and young adults, I compliment you on how well you captured their lives and minds. Please refresh my memory on Holly and Stephen; how did they encounter each other in a previous novel?
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