The dedications to Ann Patchett’s novel are interesting stories in themselves. In conversation with Rachel Martin on the November 7 episode of NPR Wild Card with Rachel Martin podcast, the author, 60, shared that her second novel, Taffetait was originally dedicated to her boyfriend at the time – and that she quickly had to change her mind. “I dedicated it to my boyfriend at the time,” Patchett said. “And I found that when the book was about to be printed, he stepped on me, so to speak. And I frantically called my publisher and said, ‘Can you pull this off?’” “They said, ‘Wait. Let me check. That! We got it back,” said the author and added that she then dedicated the novel to her relatives.
Ann Patchett at her bookstore, Parnassus Books, 2020.
Mark Humphrey/AP
But later, Patchett had to make another commitment – this time to someone truly special. The original version of her acclaimed 2001 novel. Bel Cantoit was dedicated to her current husband, Karl VanDevender, whom she was dating at the time. “I met the right guy and I dedicated a book to him, and we weren’t married, because I didn’t want to get married,” Patchett said. “But I knew I would always be with him.”
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November 5, Patchett, who is the author of novels like Protector of liars, Tom Lake and a Pulitzer Prize finalist Dutch househe published an annotated version Bel Cantowhich follows a birthday party taken over by terrorists. The new edition of the novel includes Patchett’s reflections on her narrative style and choices, according to the book’s synopsis.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. “It just seemed like an interesting project,” Patchett explained of her decision to comment on her work. “There also seemed to be no downsides. But I think it really became an interesting exercise in novel writing.”
The practice also became her way of thinking about her writing journey. “Bel Canto is so far away that I could say, ‘Look at this hard thing I’ve done. I did this really well. Check out this simple thing I made. I did this very badly,” she explained. “Why is everyone lying on the floor for the first 100 pages? What an incredibly bad idea. And yet it works. How in the world did I have the courage to do that?”
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Cover of ‘Bel Canto’ by Ann Patchett.
Amazon
But the author explains that she wouldn’t share the same kind of undoubtedly harsh criticism with others — or with herself today. “I would never say that about something I just wrote,” added the author. “In today’s time, I would never praise myself, nor would I ever criticize someone’s work like this. I would never say to a student, a friend, in a review: ‘You are a fool. Look at this horrible thing you’ve done.’”
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Patchett also talked about another element of her life that she reflects on: how she receives and reflects love.
The PEOPLE Puzzler has arrived! How fast can you solve it? Play now!”The love my husband gives me, [he] he just accepts me for who I am, always, no matter what,” she says. “And I think I’ve always been someone who wants to fix myself, and I try really hard to … just see the people in my life and accept them for who they are they are and you love them as they are.”
“And all I have to do is not say to my husband, ‘You might want to wear a coat.’
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Source: HIS Education