Hilary Thayer Hamann is the author of a work of literary fiction,
Anthropology of an American Girl, a semi-autobiographical coming-of-age story about a young woman growing up in Reagan era America. The novel was first published by Vernacular Press, an independent publishing company of which Ms. Hamann was founder and co-owner.
Anthropology was purchased for publication by Spiegel & Grau, a division of Random House, and releases this month.
From her Q & A with Steven Kurutz at the
Wall Street Journal:
WSJ: Why does the novel resonate with young women?
Ms. Hamann: It's a substantial endeavor and takes being a woman in this culture very seriously. If I thought anything, I thought my book wasn't as "light" as other books for women. They look like a pregnancy test: you go to an airport and everything is light blue and pink.
WSJ: How much of the heroine's story is your own?
Ms. Hamann: I wouldn't say it's autobiographical but I attended the same schools, walked on the same streets. I think incoporated into my story are the stories of other women. I tried to make a constellation, not a single star.
WSJ: The book is set partly in the Hamptons in 1979. What was the area like then?
Ms. Hamann: There was a sense that...[read on]
--Marshal Zeringue
