The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Atlanta author’s eighth novel explores sibling dynamics
Giffin talks about ‘First Comes love’ and writing process.
About a year after relocating to Atlanta, author Emily Giffin saw her debut novel hit shelves. “Something Borrowed” told the story of a complicated relationship between two best friends.
That novel would go on to become a Hollywood movie in 2011, all while Griffin continued cranking out stories.
This summer, her eighth novel, “First Comes Love” (Ballantine,$28), deals with another complex relationship between two women.
This time, two sisters — Josie and Meredith — who live in Atlanta, take seemingly different paths after a tragic family event. But as the story unfolds, they begin to discover that even years after the event they are both still struggling to overcome the past and the grief that has had a significant impact on their adult lives.
As always, Giffin fans will be entertained by the author’s humor and satisfied by her storytelling.
Here’s what she had to say about her latest novel and what is coming in the future:
Q: “First Comes Love” centers around a tragic family incident. How did you come up with the details of this event?
A: There was no real inspiration for the tragedy in the prologue of this story. In many ways, it was really just a way in which to explore two sisters and the dynamic of one family. Although their reaction to grief is a theme in the book, I would say an even greater theme is the notion of finding the courage to live life on your own terms. I think we all have seminal moments and choices that come to define us, in both good and bad ways. This book explores the consequences of those choices and how they can touch everything from your relationship
with your family to your career path to your love life.
Q: How is this book different from the other ones you’ve written?
A: The central relationship in the book is between sisters — which is a first for me. Although Josie and Meredith are both dealing with romantic relationships, the story is less about finding love and more about family and finding your way in life.
Q: How would you describe your relationship with your sister? Anything autobiographical there?
A: No, I wouldn’t say the story is at all autobiographical, but I did draw on my own relationship with my sister. We are extremely close and supportive of one another, but are no strangers to the turbulent sisterhood undercurrent. Oh, and like Meredith, my sister doesn’t allow shoes in her house! Ever!
Q: Tell us about your decision to set the book in Atlanta? Does it make you at all nervous to set a story in the city you live?
A: I have now lived in Atlanta longer than I’ve lived anywhere else and really feel that it is home for my family and me. So although this story could have taken place anywhere, I wanted to pay homage to the city I have come to love. I do understand that there are risks that
come with setting a story in your own community, but I have learned that as a novelist, you really have to close the door, so to speak, and write the story you want to write. There will always be readers who will find a way to be offended by fiction, or have delusions that the book is about them. But you simply can’t please everyone if you want to write a compelling emotional story.
Q: What was your biggest challenge in writing/ delivering this story?
A: You mean other than actually having to put words onto a blank page? Ha! Aside from the usual terrifying bouts of writer’s block, I found it challenging and draining to write about grief and the aftermath of loss. I wanted to make sure I did justice to those emotions, but also create a story that didn’t feel overly heavy or morbid. That balance was difficult at times.
Q: When can we expect to see “Something Blue” at the movies?
A: Very soon! The script is in great shape — and we’re getting close to production. I can’t wait to see more of John Krasinski and Kate Hudson. Their chemistry is pretty much exactly what I imagined when I wrote the book a decade ago.
Q: How do you feel your characters have evolved since you wrote your first novel?
A: I think they’ve grown up as I’ve grown up. The stakes are certainly greater than they were in “Something Borrowed,” when Rachel and I were both 29. But at heart, I still write the same relationship-driven stories and my characters are as flawed as ever. I mean—aren’t we all?