5 Questions With Christine Reilly, author of Sunday’s On the Phone to Monday
Christine Reilly has taught at Sarah Lawrence College, the Dalton School, City and Country School, and Collegiate School. She received her Bachelor’s degree from Bucknell University and her Master’s degree in writing from Sarah Lawrence College. Sunday’s on the Phone to Monday is her debut novel that follows the closely knit Simone family in New York City in the 90s as they struggle to cope with tragedy and reconnect with each other.
1. Carly, the youngest daughter of the Simone family, was adopted from China and becomes fascinated with her true origins. What role does the importance of one’s origins play in this novel?
I think a bigger theme in this book is not “origins” but race. I worked for two years as an elementary school teacher. When the faculty would decide classes for the following year, we paid an enormous attention to each student’s race, making sure that no student of a certain race would be alone in a classroom. Since the Civil Rights Movement many people dealing with race in America thought the solution would be to be “color blind” and ignore race. And yet psychology tests are showing now that identity bias exists and that people, especially children and adolescents, perform better mentally and emotionally when they are grouped with at least one other person who looks like them. There are moments in Sunday’s on the Phone to Monday when Carly feels isolated because everyone in her family is of a different race, and she is shy to vocalize her feelings because she is scared they may seem trivial in light of her sister’s illness.
Still, I’m not arguing that history, ancestry and where we come from serve no importance. Carly is a special character for me because there is a mystery surrounding her existence. The characters, Carly included, are left as much in the dark about where she comes from as the reader. Here the reader can examine the idea of “family” in this circumstance — one chestnut is that “you can’t choose your family,” but Carly’s family chose her. As a teenager, she finds her role in the family hard to ignore, and feels an added pressure.
2. This novel challenges that famous Tolstoy assertion that “All happy families are the same.” At one point one of the characters says that “Love only works if both people are equally happy. Or equally miserable.” What do you think of that idea? Does it ring true for the characters in Sunday’s On the Phone to Monday?
Well, if you love somebody who is unhappy, is it possible to be happy yourself? Would you even want to be? My dad once said that a parent is only as happy as his or her saddest child.
3. In many ways the relationship between the sisters drives the second half of the book. Sibling relationships are rich ground for writers. What do you think makes that particular relationship compelling, in general and to you specifically?
I grew up with two brothers and no sisters. Siblinghood is one of the universe’s most important relationships because (in many circumstances) you share the same DNA, you are close enough in age to be of the same generation, and it’s a friendship that is born with high stakes. There’s also no epidermis of politeness to the relationship, and so you can be truthful with siblings more quickly. I have always found something so mythical about sisters, because there is an added component of — what is it? Competition? Self-reflection? I don’t know, because I don’t have sisters, but one of my goals while writing the book was to find out.
4. The title of the book, Sunday’s on the Phone to Monday is also a line in the Beatles song “She Came in Through the Bathroom Window,” and there are many more references to popular rock and roll music throughout. What significance does music have in this book? What about that Beatles’ song specifically?
I’ve observed that the use of music and lyrics in most books I’ve read are on the page because of their personal relationship to the author. Artists are moved by art. I especially am struck by the pieces I have little to no training in — music, visual art, theater, dance, film. And I thought, wouldn’t it be fun if my characters were moved in the same way? I chose the Beatles not only because they are my favorite band but because their music is so universal. So many people are approaching the book with their own biases and memories and relationships to the lyrics I quote, and everyone will be moved by their placements in the book in different ways.
That being said, I’ve also had great fun with telling people the title of my book and waiting to see who recognizes it. It’s my favorite litmus test!
5. One really unique aspect of the text is how you’ve capitalized all references to the Heart. Why? What purpose does this serve?
This is a stylistic choice I have kept since the first draft of this book. I have an obsession with proper nouns. What makes a noun proper? In The Group, Mary McCarthy capitalizes the word Lesbian. Everyone in America did back then. (Homosexuality was also categorized in the DSM as a mental illness.) Our society has been capitalizing God for a long time. I’d like for things to change. I know these switches might not be everyone’s cup of tea or even distracting to some, but in my book, it’s my world, with different nouns having the opportunity to be sacred.
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