Rebecca Kauffman's new novel is The Gunners.From her Q&A with Deborah Kalb:
Q: How did you come up with the idea for The Gunners?--Marshal Zeringue
A: Early thoughts about the book were inspired by the question of whether or not people are capable of change. Most of us have probably had the experience of being very close to someone at one point in life, setting out in different directions and falling out of touch, and then eventually reconnecting.
I think the instinct at that point is to make a snap judgment as to the extent to which the other person has changed. (ie I can't believe how much you've changed! Or, Why, you haven't changed at all!)
I wonder how often what we identify as change - in others or ourselves - is not actually change at all, but simply an adaptation to changing circumstances, or the result of incremental adjustments made over time to suit the people around us. Or how often what we identify as change is not actually a person fleeing from their essence or true self, but drawing closer to it.
This curiosity was the basis for The Gunners, in which the main characters were very close friends as children, disbanded as high schoolers, and are...[read on]