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Narayan:
Dr. Elizabeth A. Trembley is the Head of General Education, Davenport College, Michigan & also the author of It's a Print: Detective Fiction from Page to Screen. Her Michael Crichton: A Critical Companion is a must reference read for ardent fans of this bestselling author. I had the good fortune to interview Dr. Trembley.
What prompted you to take up this task of writing about Michael Crichton?
Dr. Trembley:
Initially, I wanted to be a part of Greenwood Press' project: creating a series of critical companions to contemporary popular authors. I loved the idea of using popular writers to help introduce the often hard to understand concepts of contemporary literary theory to high school & collegiate readers. That is a philosophy of learning that matched how I taught portions of my own classes. The editor had a list of authors whom she wanted covered, & I selected Michael Crichton because I had enjoyed several of his books, & because I loved the breadth of his work: mystery, science fiction, political thrillers... so many genres to read & write about!
Narayan:
Did you meet Mr. Crichton personally & conduct interviews with him before going full steam ahead with this book -- or is the information based solely on the books themselves?
Dr. Trembley:
I do wish that I had conducted interviews with Michael Crichton as part of the writing of this book. However, though I made several requests of his publicist & his publisher for such an interview, I never got a response from anyone over the course of time it took me to write the book. At the time he was no doubt swamped with work: my drafting of the book occurred during the height of his post-Jurassic Park (the movie) fame, he had a new book coming out & was touring & interviewing & so forth. The advantage of that was that even though I couldn't interview him, other magazines & television shows did, & I used transcripts of those interviews as I wrote my own work. So I did have more material than simply the books themselves.
Narayan:
This book has everything one needs to know about Michael Crichton. Now, how was the research like -- how did you amass such a heavy lot of information. What was the modus operandi in the research? How much time did this project consume?
Dr. Trembley:
Well, I don't know that it includes EVERYTHING one would need to know about Michael Crichton; in fact, I'm sure it doesn't, as the scope of the book was limited & did not cover everything he wrote. Also, it doesn't include extensive biographical material, as that was again not in the scope of the book. I think much critical work could be done on his novels, particularly looking at ideas across several novels, & that couldn't be done in this book either. Lots of room for more critical work, I think! But, the research was extensive within its focus & I tackled it like any research project & sought every article, review, interview, television appearance & the like that he'd done, then worked with libraries to obtain copies or transcripts. I worked with wonderful, dedicated librarians who were extremely helpful throughout the process.
Narayan:
Now one doubt, you have focused heavily on the post-(Andromeda Strain works. How come you decided to drop the John Lange & Michael Douglas works & focused on just ten of Crichton's later novels. Then again you have also left out Travels, A Case of Need & Jasper Johns. Is there any particular reason for this?
Dr. Trembley:
Crichton had written so many books (dozens if you include all his pseudonyms) that we simply didn't have room in the Greenwood book to cover them all. We had to narrow the scope, & the most sensible way seemed to be to focus on the fiction he had published under his own name. After all, this is how the readers of the critical companion would know him, & this would include the Crichton books that my readers would have had access to. The earlier books under the other names for the most part were out of print at the time (A Case of Need got reprinted later, as Crichton's fame rose). However, I was clear to mention the existence of those pseudonymous novels in case any of my own readers wanted to venture forth & hunt them out. I didn't do more than mention Jasper Johns because it isn't fiction. I mentioned his screenplays in passing. Travels didn't merit a chapter of its own because it isn't fiction; however, I did use it extensively as I discussed Crichton's development as a writer -- because it is an autobiography, it was very useful to me.
Narayan:
The coming years will witness more & more Crichton bestsellers hitting the market- & so would there be a revised edition of the critical companion - say within 3-5 years from now.
Dr. Trembley:
You'd have to ask Greenwood about that! But they have issued an annual update of all the titles in this series on a CD-ROM. Are you aware of that? You may want to talk to them about it to get all the details (I don't have them).After the paper volumes came out, as the subject authors wrote new books, many of the series authors (myself included) wrote new chapters & these were included in the annual electronic updates. So there are some updated materials out there.
Narayan:
Having read all or most of the Crichton works, having researched a heavy lot - in short, can you say what is the secret behind Crichton’s success?
Dr. Trembley:
A combination of plot construction, verisimilitude & theme: he writes gripping series of events that occur in a world that seems very, very real & that lead audiences to explore ideas that are alive & electric in our world today. He writes as if he has no fear, but boldly leads us into each tale. It is wonderful, as a reader, to feel yourself in the hands of a writer like that.
Narayan:
A quick question, your favorite Crichton work & why?
Dr. Trembley:
I have so many & for such different reasons. I love Jurassic Park (before the movie was ever made) because he makes it all seem so real. I love The Terminal Man because I teach Frankenstein often in my literature classes & they are so closely connected. But I think my favorite is The Great Train Robbery because of the cleverness of the characters. Plus, the movie version of that book, which Crichton himself wrote & directed, is one of my favorite movies.
Narayan:
Why do you feel that Crichton has concentrated just on the novel format & stayed away from short story writing? Save for “Blood Doesn't Come Out”, I don't believe the author has written any other short story. What do you think might be the reason for it?
Dr. Trembley:
I wouldn't want to speculate why he chooses not to write short stories. Clearly he excels at the popular novel; the reasons for that may be the reasons he doesn't switch forms.
Narayan:
So what's next for both of you -- will there be another “Critical Companion” of any other author in the near future or...?
Dr. Trembley:
Recently I have written short creative nonfiction & fiction & have begun to teach more creative writing classes, though I still teach academic writing & literature courses.
Narayan:
Thanks so much, Dr. Trembley, for sparing your time for this eInterview. By the way, folks, Dr. Trembley is Head of General Education at Davenport College in Holland, Michigan & the Program Director for FOCUS & SOAR. She is also a certified master dog trainer.
Do catch the Review of Elizabeth A. Trembley's Michael Crichton: A Critical Companion - I hope it makes you go out & buy yourself a copy!
Narayan Radhakrishnan
2006©Narayan Radhakrishnan
Published 01/15/06
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