Interview with Siobhan Fallon

Author Siobhan Fallon's recently released novel is a collection of short stories about the army base Fort Hood in Austin, Texas.
In her book You Know When the Men Are Gone, she focuses on the often underrepresented aspects of war. The battle for sanity on the home front.
A truly engaging novel by a truly engaging person, Siobhan spoke about the difficulties of being a military wife, and the life that accompanies it.

Because I am a a student of literature, one of the most exciting aspects of this interview to me was to actually speak with the source. I am currently enrolled in the class Theory & Interpretation taught by Professor Jody Greene which centralizes around the idea of authorship and questions if the author is necessary when determining intent or hermeneutics. Although many of the theorist believe that an author should be removed from a text, I found it helpful to speak with Siobhan about her influences when writing the text- especially when they were not explicitly referenced.
When reading "You Know When The Men Are Gone" I was struck with the parallels between her writing and that of "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien. When I brought this comparison up, she  admitted she had hoped the novel would be something of the female version of O'Brien's famous text and was thrilled I had made the connection. She said no one had made the observation of the similarities between the two books that she had intended and thought was obvious.

Overall it was an insightful interview. I found it particularly intriguing when she revealed that many of the characters represented her in different stages of her life. The idea that one can channel emotions and opinions through fictionalized characters is a fascinating concept.

Siobhan moves to Saudi Arabia in a few weeks, where she is optimistic she will find more writing material; perhaps even a new novel, which I eagerly await.

Click Below to here the full interview aired 3/3/11
Interview with Siobhan Fallon