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Sanctuary Interview |
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Borders Q&A with Raymond Khoury
August 17, 2007 Conducted by Kim Kunoff What do you think it is about this historical moment that makes people want to connect with ancient themes, mysteries, greater meanings? Is it particular to this Zeitgeist? There's a certain emotional and spiritual coldness to the age we live in, for sure. Science, information flow, and technology have seeped into and arbitraged every aspect of our life and, in the process, taken away a lot of the sense of mystery and wonder we had about the world. But it's something we need, it's a human tradition, and maybe stories that take us back to more romantic, uncertain times, stories that deal with the big questions about life that we really don't have an answer for, are filling part of that need. For me, they're the stories I seek out, the ones I enjoy most, whether in a book or on a screen. And the more epic, the more those stories take me away and draw me into their own world and make me question and wonder about things, the better. You are able to evoke the beauty and dignity of your settings. You mention The Shadow of the Wind in one interview; Zafon does this with Barcelona. Is there a particular setting that resonates within you? The great cities of Europe-Paris, Barcelona, and Lisbon, among others-are wonderful cities to use in the type of story I write. They've got so much history and drama, so much architectural beauty, that it's not that hard to let it seep in and find its way to the page. Right now, I'm in Rome, and I've just spent the day walking around the city with my daughters who were marveling at how every block in the center of the city-literally every block-has a magnificent building in it. In writing The Sanctuary, though, I was able to set a large part of the contemporary story in Beirut, a tragic city I grew up in and know well, and one that still holds a special grip on me. You began as an architect. Do you believe an architect puts a bit of his soul in the buildings? Can you name some of your favorite structures and cities? It really depends on the project, but generally, I'd say that if an architect is true to his calling, then yes, absolutely. But it's the same with any artistic endeavor. If you want to do it well, it'll take its pound of flesh and then come back for seconds, but in the end it's usually worth it. Favorite structures: so many to mention… the Grand Palais in Paris, the castle of Chenonceau in the Loire valley, the British Museum in London, the Chrysler Building in Manhattan… The main towns of Santorini and Mykonos are incredibly soothing on the eye, while, at the opposite end of the spectrum, the Burj hotel in Dubai and the Guggenheim in Bilbao are literally mesmerizing. But top of the list is the Sagrada Familia cathedral in Barcelona-and it's not even finished! As for my favorite city, it's unquestionably Paris. Nothing comes close, despite a few glaring failings-the rudeness of some Parisians, most notably... What inspires you? A lot, happily! But there are three things that really hit the spot: the sea, for starters-I need it badly; A great movie-which is, sadly, becoming more and more of a rarity (though I can't wait to see The Bourne Ultimatum); and music… If you could live in any time in history and place, where and when would you be? A lot of periods in history fascinate me, like the height of the convivencia in Toledo, in medieval Spain, where Christians, Jews and Muslims lived and worked together harmoniously, sharing their knowledge, their culture and their faith, despite the Crusades taking place across the Mediterranean; or Enlightenment Europe of the 18th century, when radical new writings were challenging the tyrannies of state and religion (though I'd probably give Paris at that time a wide berth); even Beirut in the 1950s and 60s, before the civil war, or anywhere in the 50s for that matter. But, frankly, the only time I'd want to be living is right now, doing exactly what I'm doing and having the people I love around me. Not to mention that I'd find it really hard to live without the convenience of a hot shower, a cool fridge or an iPod… Do you feel that your stories are entirely fiction, or is there ever an eerie sense that your research might be yielding some stranger-than-fiction facts? I used to write a TV series called Spooks for the BBC (it's known as MI:5 in the US) which was-oddly enough-about a group of MI5 spies dealing with tricky situations, and although some of the episodes were written months before they would air, they sometimes mirrored the events at the time of their airing with unexpected prescience. And while I don't think we're likely to see a lost Templar gospel surface anytime soon, I've been pleasantly surprised in writing The Last Templar, and now with The Sanctuary, to find out that some of the premises I was researching turned out to fit the bill of the stories I was planning without needing too much tweaking on my part. What other projects are you working on now? Right now, I'm sitting back, enjoying a break from writing and looking forward to the release of The Sanctuary, while the next book slowly percolates in my mind… |