SAKEY ON LIFE ,‘ AFTER LIFE’ IN CHICAGO
Local author’s latest a supernatural thriller set here — and soon headed to the big screen
Sitting in the lobby of the Langham Hotel on the North Bank of the Chicago River, Marcus Sakey smiled, noting the appropriateness of being interviewed in a location that plays prominently in his latest novel, “Afterlife.”
“Yes, it’s the perfect place to chat, though it does seem a bit like an out- of- body experience,” said the author, who calls Roscoe Village home. “Yet, given the ideas presented in the book, I guess out- of- body feelings are definitely appropriate.”
“Afterlife” is a supernatural thriller that focuses on ex- MarineWill Brody, now an FBI special agent, killed while trying to capture a serial killer sniper terrorizing Chicago. He discovers he has entered something Sakey calls “the echo,” the first of several post- death existences — and a place where Brody is soon joined by his boss and lover, herself killed in pursuit of that same sniper.
“Usually, I can’t always answer the question of where an idea came from, but for this one I can,” Sakey said, when asked about the genesis of the book. “It came to me in a dreamI had a fewyears ago, where I was in Chicago. I was downtown, and everyone was gone. It was just me wandering around, and in that dream way that you know things — I knewIwas dead. It wasn’t that [ everyone] was gone, it wasme.”
Sakey pointed out that this dream experience wasn’t a nightmare, nor particularly scary. “When I woke up next to my wife of 20 years, I imagined being in the same place as her, being in the same city, and not able to interact with her, talk to her or hold her hand. Then that became a nightmare.”
The Chicago- based writer has now published nine novels, and he’s particularly excited that Oscar winners RonHoward and Brian Grazer’s Imagine Entertainment production company will be turning “Afterlife” into a film. “I’ve had good luck with Hollywood. One of my novels has been made into a movie [“Good People,” starring KateHudson and James Franco] and several have been optioned, but I’m delighted that I’ll be writing the screenplay for this one.”
Being a writer in Chicago, Sakey said he’s constantly inspired by the city. “I find everything about Chicago stimulating. It’s an incredibly energetic place to be as an artist or writer. Everything from the architecture to the food to the people to the community of other writers who are here. … I like writing about Chicago. My first four novels were set here. The four following didn’t quite fit. So it was nice to return here with this ninth book. I think Chicago is the quintessentially American city— for both good and bad— which for a novelist is quite interesting.”
Baer goes neighborhood hopping in Cuba this time
Geoffrey Baer’s intent with his new PBS feature, “Weekend in Havana” ( 8 p. m. Tuesday, WTTW- Channel 11), was to add a fresh, in- depth perspective on the recently expanded travel opportunities for Americans heading to Cuba.
“We’ve all been inundated with things like ‘ Kim Kardashian Goes to Cuba,’ ” joked the veteran public TV broadcaster, stressing that “we were trying to go a little deeper than what people have seen so far in various TV pieces on Cuba.”
Baer, well- known for his in- depth programs about Chicago neighborhoods, noted several similarities between Cuba and the Windy City. “Chicago is the city of neighborhoods, and definitely so is Havana— though our neighborhoods are often based on ethnic identity,” he said. “That’s not so true in Havana, but there is the Old City, there’s the Centro district, there’s the Malecon, the Miramar area, which is a more advantaged neighborhood.
“But the other thing that made me think of Chicago is Havana’s architecture. Though a lot of Havana’s architecture is crumbling, you see a lot of neoclassical architecture which was done at the same time as the whole City Beautiful Movement that was happening in America and in Chicago. That also was true of the Art Deco period — that happened there as well as Chicago, at the same time.”