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Well-Read: Reading the Overwhelming World
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by
Pulse Team
November 6 - 12, 2008 |
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Aaron Rosclatt, the protagonist of James Sandham’s first novel, The Entropy of Aaron Rosclatt, often wakes up hung over and reconstructs through hazy, dry–mouthed moments of clarity how he arrived where he is. Sandham was born in St. Catharines, raised in Fonthill, and recently graduated from the University of Guelph with a degree in Political Science. In the novel, Aaron lives in “Slabtown,” a city very similar to St. Catharines, but somehow, grimmer, grittier, and greyer. Sandham has written a novel that draws on what he knows while creating a narrative that is reflective of the malaise of young adult experience.
The novel focuses on the disintegration of Aaron Rosclatt’s life as he tries to understand his working class background while attending university. Aaron’s roommates are wealthy British students who use his rent money (their parents bought the townhouse they live in) to buy drugs, cigarettes, and alcohol. Aaron’s initial struggles to fit in become exacerbated by his extreme poverty. He survives on eggs and toast while bumming cigarettes and drinks from his roommates because he knows that he cannot ask his family to support him.
Aaron’s family are an intriguing set of characters. His father is a GM worker, prone to bouts of anger and depression, who embodies a strange amalgam of socialist propaganda and capitalist competition. His mother’s dye job indicates tension (more stress = less salon time) as she smooths over family conflicts. Aaron’s brother, Dennis, is a stoner who has quit high school and seems unable to keep a job, while his grandmother is a raging alcoholic who lives with her boyfriend and many cats in a chaotic and filthy house. The family is intricately rendered and their impact on Aaron’s life is the real strength of the novel. I had the opportunity to speak with Sandham about writing, about the novel itself, and about growing up in Niagara.
Pulse: How would you characterize your writing style?
JS: Conversational. Whenever my friends and I talk, the basis seems to be telling stories back and forth about whatever happens in our lives. That seems to be a style that everyone can relate to.
Pulse: Which authors have been influential for you?
JS: Irvine Welsh was the first author that I read and I was like, “Oh my God! I didn’t even know you could write like this.” That opened up a new way of looking at what you could do. I like Martin Amis as well, although stylistically I don’t think he has influenced me much.
Pulse: What is the relationship between “Slabtown” and St. Catharines?
JS: All the places and people are loosely based on stuff in my own life. The classic “Write what you know about.” Slabtown is aspects of St. Catharines exaggerated and turned into a world on its own. St. Catharines is probably a much nicer place than I make it out to be in the book.
Pulse : Drugs and alcohol are significant factors in the novel’s narrative. What do drug and alcohol use mean in the context of the novel?
JS: When I was growing up, that was what you did on the weekends. That was the entertainment. Drugs are the underlying nihilism of Aaron’s life. He doesn’t have a very substantial existence. It is really based around escapism.
Pulse : The novel also displays Aaron’s struggle to understand his working class background. How much of your own experiences are infused into Aaron’s life?
JS: Coming to terms with socio–economic standing was a bit of my life. Growing up in Fonthill was a bit of a sheltered existence. You have your friends and your family and your little town and you think that this is it. So growing up and moving away, you start to gain a broader perspective. To an extent, my growing up is reflected in Aaron as he matures and struggles with various dilemmas.
Pulse: What would you like readers of the Pulse to know about your novel?
JS: I think they should know that it is a book worthy of purchase. (Laughs) I just would like them to know that it exists. As far as what the book means, people can take it however they want. Hopefully, people will find it an entertaining story. If they want to take and read it, great. If they want to search for deeper stuff, then they can do that too. It is not supposed to have an earth shattering message in it. It is just a presentation of young people coming of age and trying to make decisions. Aaron has abdicated his personal responsibility to make decisions. He lets things happen to him. The world can be pretty overwhelming. P
[JON EBEN FIELD]
James Sandham (St. Catharines, ON)
Reading from The Entropy of Aaron Rosclatt
@ Chapters, Fairview Mall.
Saturday, November 8,
1 pm.
clarknovabooks.com
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