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The Land of Eighteen Dreams
Lawrence J. Epstein
Q&A

Q. Why did you choose to write a novel?

A. Novels can explore the interior life and the moral landscapes where we live in ways nonfiction doesn't try to do. I wanted to graft my imagination onto a perception of the world. It was exciting to create characters and take them through conflicts in their lives and difficult situations all the while trying to use fiction's unique methods. This novel was an experiment for me, and I liked it very much.

In particular I wanted to examine the meaning of being Jewish (or, more generally, a caring person) in a tough American world. In telling the story of one man's life and the effect that life had on others, I was trying to create a metaphor for all of American Jewish existence.

The Land of Eighteen Dreams is an episodic novel made up of eighteen chronologically-connected stories, each of which is self-contained. All of these episodes concern Lily and her grandfather. It is their relationship that is at the heart of the novel, and it is a relationship I wanted to explore because so much of it involves passing on wisdom and the moral lessons drawn from a long and drama-filled life.

Q. What is the audience for the book?

A. I prize readability. The book is aimed at adults, but, in part because the narrator starts as a teenager, I hope it is also attractive to young adult readers. Similarly, the main characters are Jewish and the history is grounded in Jewish events, but the characters are also representative of all humans thinking about their lives. There is no special vocabulary or background needed to read the book. What is needed is an interest in how to be moral and how to deal with other people.

My goal for Jewish readers is to help them relive the moment that they understood, cherished, or questioned their Jewish identity. I wanted especially to take those readers back to moments when being Jewish was thrilling. For other readers, my goal is to help them understand their Jewish friends and neighbors and let them explore how the moral decisions they make resonate across their entire lives.

Q Are any of the characters based on real people?

A. The main characters are all a product of my imagination. The narrator is a young woman who matures as the novel progresses so I had to use a lot of imagination to develop her voice. The grandfather is another main character. I understood him more clearly, but he grew up in a different era, so I had to try to re-create it.

There were some minor characters based on real people. And the setting at the beginning of the novel is Jackson Heights in Queens where I went to elementary school and so knew the neighborhood. One of my favorite people there was Dan, the Ice Cream Man who gave free ice cream to kids who could answer his quiz questions. I have a character based on Dan. Another character is based on a Holocaust survivor who lectured to one of my classes. I changed parts of their story around so I would say some really interesting and kind people inspired characters rather than were the characters.


Q. Speaking of inspired, what authors inspired you?

A. I started reading adult novels at age 13 when I came across Sinclair Lewis' novel Babbitt. After that I never stopped. Among the writers who influenced this book particularly, I think of Herman Wouk, Leon Uris, Bernard Malamud, Cynthia Ozick, Henry Roth, and Chaim Potok. I draw inspiration from a lot of writers and from sources beyond writing as well, particularly my family, friends, and acquaintances.