Q&A

1. HOW DID THE IDEA ORIGINATE FOR THE BOOK?

Being a journalist, I take notes out of habit. The process of buying and doing up the house was so surrealistic, and disturbing, that I kept a sort of journal. I didn’t know what I would do with the material at the time, but it was cathartic to record events and at the least I wanted a legal record in case I wanted to take any of these shysters and thugs to court.

The notion of transforming all this into a book came in June, 2002, when a colleague from our Africa days, Michela Wrong, stayed with us while researching her second book. We threw a dinner in her honor, and as we regaled guests with tales of the renovation, I realized that making light of the experience made me feel better about the fact that the street and the house were still a mess. After taking our dinner companions for a tour of the block – a police raid was conveniently underway – and showing them where the kitchen wall had collapsed due to our incompetent construction skills, one of the guests eyed me quizzically. “Surely,” he said, more a statement than a question, “You’re writing a book?”  Once he articulated it, I knew I had to.

The idea of writing a funny book – at least I hope it’s funny, that was the intention – especially appealed to me. My career has centered on conflicts in parts of the world where things fall apart. The work can be soul destroying, and in fact, that’s a major reason why I gave up being a foreign correspondent. So I liked the idea of notion of writing something that would make people laugh rather than depress them. I was also drawn to the challenge of trying a new genre. I had been writing the same type of ponderous news stuff for 25 years, and had always wondered if I could create something more amusing. It was immensely invigorating to try a new approach, although it took forever to find my “voice”.

2. HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN AT WORK ON THIS BOOK? DID IT REQUIRE SPECIAL RESEARCH?

I began to write the book three years ago, but took off more than six months in the middle when I smashed my writing arm while ice-skating. Most of the action took place in the house or on the street, but I also collected information from law enforcement officials and made a trip to the Dominican Republic. The biggest challenge was reconstructing events that occurred many years before. Though I took notes at the time I still needed to verify quite a few details. I spent an enormous amount of time with people like Salami and Clarence recalling incidents, in order to capture their unique voices. Some other characters died or disappeared mid-stream, so I had to cut them out of the book or substantially reduce their roles. For instance, I would have liked to develop Charm’s story but couldn’t find her so she became a minor protagonist.

3. DO YOU THINK ABOUT CASHING IN NOW THAT THE NEIGHBORHOOD HAS GENTRIFIED?

John jokes that we have to move now it has gotten “boring.” I say he has to finish painting the hallway before we go anywhere.

4. IN THE END, YOU UNWITTINGLY MADE A GOOD REAL ESTATE PURCHASE. DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE FOR NOVICE GENTRIFIERS?

Take risks.

5. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT BRINGING UP A CHILD IN THAT ENVIRONMENT?

When Anton was born, in May 2001, I wondered whether I wasn’t a trifle irresponsible strolling him past crack vials. But little kids are clueless; they’re more focused on the slides in the playground than the addict passed out nearby. Now that Anton is more cognizant of his surroundings, the neighborhood has calmed down and it’s no more dangerous than affluent areas like the Upper West Side. Part of me prefers to bring him up in a “real” neighborhood like West Harlem, with all its rough edges, so that he develops a true sense of the world. We don’t sugarcoat things in this house – if the cats kill a squirrel in the yard we talk about it and we don’t hide the newspaper when corpses are on the front page. I like to think that because of our friendship with MacKenzie, Anton will grow up to be empathic towards the homeless. So far so good – Anton recently asked me to donate his outgrown toys and clothes to foster children.

6. HOW DOES YOUR FAMILY FEEL ABOUT YOUR WRITING ABOUT THEM?

I was a bit nervous about what my mother and John would think but fortunately they’re pleased with their depictions. As for our son, well, Anton is absolutely delighted that he has a chapter named after him, although he still can’t properly read it himself. It’s funny what a seven-year-old latches onto. Anton was thrilled that his picture was on the cover but he expressed concerned that there were no childproof window bars in the illustration. (“Mama, I could fall out!”) He also was upset that I didn’t mention his exact birthday – May 15 -- in the book. Apparently he thought that people would send him presents. Anton wants to bring the book to school for Show and Tell but I’m little worried what the teacher will think of us. Other than that, he often nags me to get my agent on the line to discuss a book idea he has, but I told him that he has to learn to write first.

7. HAS SALAMI READ THE BOOK?

No, he says he doesn’t have time. But he’s made clear that he wants Denzel Washington to play him, should a movie ever transpire.

8. WHAT IS SALAMI UP TO THESE DAYS?

We’re actually concerned about him. The elderly woman who invited him to live in her cellar died recently and her family wants Salami to leave the house. He’s begging for lunch money these days and looks pretty ragged. I can’t imagine where he will go. He’s not the type to leave the neighborhood for a city shelter. There’s only one crack house left around the corner, and its days are numbered, no doubt, what with gentrification.

10. SPEAKING OF WHICH, HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT SAID GENTRIFICATION?

I have mixed feelings. On the one hand, I’m pleased that my kid will probably not meet narcotics salesmen outside the front door when he hits puberty. I like the fact that thugs with guns are no longer menacing our neighbors across the street. I welcome that our property value have gone up and that we don’t have to take a subway anymore to buy whole wheat bread. But I do worry about the most vulnerable people, like Salami.

Having said all that, the area still hasn’t really “turned.” The cafe that was El Floridita has been turned into a Burger King. It’s not a fancy place serving crème brulee. I’m not sure what impact the sub-prime mortgage crisis will have on this area. A lot of people were victims of predatory lending and I suspect that we’ll see quite a few foreclosures in the coming months. Whether this will slow the pace of gentrification remains to be seen.

11. WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON NOW?

Another funny book. This one is set in the former Soviet Union. It involves some plans that go horribly awry.