Adam Gidwitz: “Most people just want a good protagonist”

Let us begin with your latest novel, Max in the House of Spies. How did you end up creating this character called Max and the kind of fictional universe that he is part of?

I have known for a long time that I wanted to write about Kindertransport, which was an effort to get Jewish children out of Nazi Germany in 1938 and 1939. A close friend of my family — a brilliant music critic named Michael Steinberg — was one of the children on the Kindertransport. He was taken away from his mother in 1938 to England, where he lived for eight years not knowing whether she had survived the war. I knew the story and what an amazing thing it was but didn’t know how to tell it in a way that was fun for children. Engaging with a serious subject in a fun way is crucial. If children do not want to turn the pages, what is the point of me writing anything difficult or complex? They will never see it.

Unrelated to this, I was also reading the spy novels of John Le Carré and fell in love with them. They are beautiful works of literature set in the world of espionage. I was really inspired by them but did not make the connection with my own writing until COVID-19 hit. I was in quarantine in March, April and May of 2020, observing how the discourse in the United States was dominated by lies. Our President — Donald Trump — told people to inject bleach into their veins. People died. I wanted to explore the question, “How could a country become devoted to lies?” And the most obvious place to start was Nazi Germany.

That’s how Michael Steinberg, John Le Carré and the lies being spread during the pandemic came together for me. I had a story, a reason, and a method, so I sat and wrote the book.

Did it feel like you were also honouring your ancestors by writing this book?

Yes, absolutely! Many people from my extended family were killed in the Holocaust. While that was on my mind, I also thought about the fact that there are so many books about non-Jewish heroes saving Jewish people, or about Jewish people who just are victims. I really wanted to write a novel about a Jewish boy who was a hero — a strong, resourceful person who figured things out. There are millions of true stories about Jewish people being heroes during World War II and the Holocaust but they do not tend to be told.

Are these stories not told because of what publishers expect of authors?

Market expectations certainly play a role. People get into a predictable pattern of what a Holocaust story should sound like, thinking that Jews make up only one per cent of the American population, so the 99 per cent would much rather read about non-Jewish protagonists saving Jews. Once you break through these blinders, you see that most people just want a good protagonist. If this person happens to be Jewish, they can learn something new about Jewish culture. There is a place for such books too in the market.

How does it feel to talk about this book in India, a country where Jewish people from all over the world sought refuge when they were being persecuted elsewhere?

India is an incredible melting pot of cultures, and I love the Indian connection to Jewish heritage. When I visited Israel for the first time a few years ago, I met many Jewish émigrés from the community of Cochin Jews in Jerusalem. They had migrated from Kerala.

Speaking of India, there is something else that excites me. In the United States, when we think of the British during World War II, we see them as heroes because they were our allies and stood up against the Nazis. In India, you have a much more complex view of the British in the 1940s. So, in my novel, when Max goes to England, where he experiences a great deal of anti-Semitism, he has an Indian classmate called Harold Wadia. I did not want to steal one of the actual stories of the Wadias but I wanted to tap into their history because they were in England and sending their kids to fancy private schools like the one that Max is at.

Talking about this book with Indian readers at the Neev Literature Festival is special because the book also explores who the British thought they were versus what they really were. Max in the House of Spies is part of a duology. My next book is called Max in the Land of Lies. It will be out in February. Actually, I wrote one very long book and my editor suggested splitting it into two, with the first one set in England and the second mostly in Nazi Germany.

There is another Jewish character in your book The Inquisitor’s Tale: Or, The Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog. Jacob is described as someone who “has the power to heal the sick and injured”. What was it like to build this character?

All my characters have some element of my personality. For a Jewish boy like Jacob in 1242 in France, life was about being under threat all the time. Anybody could do anything, and they would suffer no consequences. Jacob grew out of my own experience as a kid who always felt nervous about not fitting in and wondered what others thought of him. William, another character in the book, shares my rage against injustice. Jeanne, the change agent in the book, comes from the part of me that is passionate about speaking on political issues.

How did your wife Lauren Mancia — who is a historian of medieval Christian devotional practices at Brooklyn College — help with the research for this book?

We were living in France when she had her Fulbright research grant. Every site that we saw and story that we heard was so amazing that I got really inspired to write. Lauren was my research director. Before every chapter that I wrote, she would tell me what to read so that I had a solid understanding of the period and the place. I benefited greatly from her expertise.

Do you worry about people’s interest in your identity taking precedence over your books? Do you feel pushed to take a stand on what’s going on in Israel and Palestine?

A school cancelled this author visit they had planned with me, saying that it was not an appropriate time. I asked if that had to do with my being Jewish and writing about the Holocaust but they did not explain. Another school in the US, with a majority Palestinian population, was worried about having me because some people assumed that I was a Zionist exclusionary of any Palestinians. That is completely untrue. The school principal was supportive of my visit. When I arrived at the school, the kids were wearing pro-Palestinian sashes and keffiyehs. They let me speak, and I appreciated that. People ban books and speakers only when they believe that those books and speakers are more convincing than they are. This school did not do that. They let me express myself. We had a wonderful conversation. We had empathy for each other. The kids came and gave me fist bumps later.

How was your experience of working with Pakistani-American author Hena Khan on The Secret of the Himalayas, which is part of the Unicorn Rescue Society series?

This series revolves around two kids from New Jersey in the US who travel around the world with their eccentric mentor to save creatures in danger. They hop onto an airplane. They learn about the country, the culture, the people, the mythology, and they use what they learn to rescue animals and birds that are endangered. I love Hena’s work, so I approached her and asked if she would like to work together on a book. It was a collaborative process, so it began with asking her what she would like to write about but it also had to fit a formula.

As a South Asian reader, this makes me think of the passport privilege that Americans enjoy. How do your characters show up in another country without any paperwork?

Their visit is completely illegal. This is probably coming from my unexamined privilege as an American writer, from this idea that we can show up anywhere, though I have tried to stay away from the American saviour complex. In the books, the Americans do not solve problems on their own. They always collaborate with someone who is a local.

In the US, Pakistan is associated with Osama bin Laden because of 9/11. To what extent has your book challenged stereotypes about Pakistan among American readers?

Challenging this narrative was the goal, which is why the book focuses on the warm-heartedness of Pakistanis who believe in taking care of guests and strangers. The idea of hospitality is strongly rooted in Islam. Thanks to Hena, this really comes out in the book and provides an alternative to images and perceptions that circulate in American news.

How does your former career as a school teacher and substitute librarian help you get a sense of what might work with your target audience — children and teenagers?

What I learnt as a teacher and a librarian helps me with plotting, structure and editing. Sitting in a classroom full of children, you have to know how to hold their attention.

Chintan Girish Modi is a Mumbai-based journalist who writes about books, art and culture. He can be reached @chintanwriting on Instagram and X.