We are so thrilled to chat with Mary Dingee Filmore, author of An Address in Amsterdam. Here, Mary shares a few facts about herself and reveals four authors that have inspired her writing!
The experience of living for months at a time in the city of Amsterdam, and falling completely in love with it – then discovering that a whole huge segment of the population was missing, having been murdered in the Holocaust. Once I began to learn a little, I became fascinated and inspired by the few people who did resist, whether they were Jewish like Rachel, or Gentile like me. What made it possible for these brave women to do what they did? How did they sustain themselves and each other in those terrible times, when their lives were constantly at risk?
Before I describe it, let me say that Rachel has broken things off with Michiel even though she loves him, because he wants marriage and she knows her Jewish parents would never accept a Gentile husband. Several months pass as the situation with the Nazis intensifies. Rachel pauses at sunset beside the Amstel River, and sees an elderly couple together in an everyday, loving way. She realizes that she must pursue the love she can have, now. There isn’t a moment to waste. It reminds me of a beautiful quotation from Aeschylus: “Especially in a time of darkness, that is the time to love, that an act of love might tip the balance.”
The scene of the first roundup of Jewish men in Amsterdam was excruciating to write. I had to enter the mentality of everyone who was there: the men who were squatting on that frigid afternoon, the bystanders like Rachel, the soldiers who were tormenting the victims and the one who was sickened by the whole thing. I spent many hours on the Jonas Daniel Meijerplein where the roundup took place, as well as examining the few photographs we have of the events that day and reading accounts of it. Still, going back there was more than challenging, and I hope I have recreated the scene with accuracy at the visceral level, not just in the details.
- Amos Oz – A Time of Love and Darkness gave me a picture of the founding of the state of Israel through the eyes of a young boy that I’d never had before, and an understanding of what was so compelling and thrilling about that time. The book is a terrific story well told, but so much more than that, with many changes in tone and character as it proceeds.
- Isabel Allende – Paula depicts both the individual tragedy of her losing her daughter to unconsciousness through a stroke, and the collective story of Chile when the idealist Salvador Allende was assassinated. I appreciated the individual story in the foreground, with the larger picture always present and connected.
- Doris Lessing – The Summer before the Dark is my favorite book to give to women in transition, because it convincingly shows someone whose world of husband and children and job falls apart, leaving her to float and redefine herself. It explores both her inner world and her circumstances, has a touch of the surreal in the dream world, and paints a breakdown convincingly.
- Virginia Woolf – Orlando is a glorious romp through the ages, Woolf’s tribute to her lover Vita Sackville-West and the 365-room mansion where she grew up, but which she failed to inherit because of discriminatory laws. It’s fun, it’s dazzling, and even the heartbreak in it has its beauties.
- Chiang Yee – The Silent Traveler Series is a magnificent collection of several dozen books which are Mr. Yee’s memories of places he has visited, depicted in English prose, Chinese poetry translated into English, and exquisite watercolors. He brings together many kinds of information and media to create something with a very distinctive flavor.
What book inspires you most? Tell us below!
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