… but then at some point you realize, yes, OK, sure, maybe it’s about that, but it’s also really about something else, something you weren’t aware of (not consciously).
A while back I had the realization that, to a large degree, my novel is about forgiveness. Forgiving others. Forgiving yourself. Forgiving the past as well as the present.
Today I was reading this review of Ethel Rohan’s Hard to Say (a fantastic book, by the way) and I came across this quote from Peter Ustinov: “Love is an act of endless forgiveness.”
I almost fell out of my chair. My god. That’s what my book is really about.
Thanks for the kind mention, Andy. I’m glad you came to that realization about your novel–an exciting and powerful moment.
Since publishing Hard to Say I’ve had Ustinov’s quote calligraphed and it now hangs on a wall in my home (and inside me).
Ethel, how did you come across that quote? It’s such a gem. (Peter Ustinov, who knew?)