Twain & Stanley Enter Paradise

A Conversation with Lori Marie Carlson-Hijuelos

Q. You watched as your husband, Oscar Hijuelos, worked on this novel for more than ten years. What inspired him to write TWAIN & STANLEY ENTER PARADISE?

One afternoon in Branford, Connecticut, where we have a small summer home, Oscar mentioned to me that he had come across an intriguing reference about Henry Morton Stanley in a book about the explorer’s life. The author of the biography surmised that Stanley had made a journey to Cuba to find his missing, adoptive father. (Since his teens, Oscar had been interested in the life of Stanley. So he had been reading about him for a long time.) He also happened upon a footnote that indicated that Stanley had been a comrade of Mark Twain’s. But Oscar could find absolutely no information about their friendship, other than a mention or two in histories that he picked up in old bookstores. I think he was very intrigued about this meeting of minds and hearts because while Twain and Stanley shared many values and convictions they were also opposites. He decided to explore the unknown canvas of their friendship because it seemed like an incredibly rich writing adventure.

Q. It’s obvious that Oscar had an affinity for Mark Twain and his writings. Were there any other books or authors that influenced his writing of TWAIN & STANLEY ENTER PARADISE?

He read the Bible as he wrote the novel. And he was constantly reading histories about both men, as well as Dorothy Tennant’s life. And he listened to classical music, always, as he wrote.

Q. TWAIN & STANLEY ENTER PARADISE interweaves correspondence, stories, and several locales of real figures from history. How did Oscar go about researching this book?

Oscar, no matter where he was — whether in a cab, a restaurant, the barbershop, or visiting a friend — always had a book in hand. He read voraciously. For this novel, he purchased hundreds of texts about Twain, Stanley, Lady Stanley, Wales, Cuba, New Orleans, etc. He bought materials from rare book dealers and old bookshops in Europe and the U.S., and he made purchases of documents online. He found pictures of the orphanage, for instance, where Stanley spent a part of his youth. He bought maps. He went to art exhibits. We went on research trips abroad. Basically, you could say that he created a context — from his intuition, intellectual leanings, and readings — into which he poured his imagination.

Q. The theme of self-identity was always prominent throughout Oscar’s works. How would you say his approach to the subject was different in TWAIN & STANELY ENTER PARADISE?

I really don’t think it was different. Oscar worked on this novel in the same manner that he approached all of his works. His was an investigative/creative process that melded extensive research with travel, voluminous reading, his own dreams, and incredibly long hours of writing at his desk without breaks of any kind.

Q. You had an active role in editing and revising TWAIN & STANLEY ENTER PARADISE. What specifically did you want to bring out in Oscar’s writing and the plot? Did you notice anything different about Oscar’s writing when you took on this role?

I line edited this novel at a certain point. It required that I spend 13 hours each day for an extensive period of time. Because I knew Oscar so well — his voice, his way of thinking, his muscular disposition as well as his extraordinary ear for delicacy and tone — I let myself sink into each page of the work. It was a sacred and excruciating experience for me. I felt his presence. I felt his support. The story was very big. The writing was orchestral. I needed to respect that totally, but I also knew it needed to be cut. The manuscript went from nearly 900 pages to just under 500. We had discussed this, the two of us, as he was writing the novel…how in the end it would need to be reduced to a reader-friendly size. Basically, I listened to Oscar on the page. I can’t think of any other way to put it.

Q. When you compare Oscar’s life and career to that of these two historical figures, there are some poignant similarities between author and subject. How do you think Oscar related both as a person and as a writer to Twain and Stanley, their philosophies, and the fictional re-tellings that he created?

In this novel, Oscar is remarkably candid about his personal beliefs. At first, when I reread the novel, I was taken aback at just how much of himself he allowed to be revealed, even if ever so subtly. In general terms, if I may, Oscar can be seen in Stanley's understanding of fame and success; that in the end it doesn't mean much, except that it allows one a platform to do GOOD in the world and to try to add a measure of beauty to one's environment. Likewise, in Twain's persona and journey in TWAIN & STANLEY, there is Oscar's humor, his appreciation for irony and how it shapes the way we saunter through our days. Oscar definitely believed in God, as Stanley did, but he also had so many questions. Oscar abhorred injustice and the fact that so many people have suffered through the ages. He grappled with his faith in this regard. So, in that respect, you can see my husband in Twain. Definitely, Oscar found in both men a companionable appreciation for the power of literature and for excellence in "telling" the tale. For Oscar, writing was living, and that is what he was called to do.

Q. Finally, what do you think Oscar would have wanted the biggest takeaway for the reader to be?

To be transported-not only to another era and place, but to the depths of one’s soul. And one thing else: Oscar was a romantic. He was a soulful man. He was an adoring spouse. (I was very fortunate to have been his wife.) In this novel he wanted to convey a core belief of his: that a woman’s love for her husband made all the difference in his chances for true peace and happiness. Dorothy Tennant, in a way, saved Stanley. And Livy was Twain’s spiritual rock, physically frail though she was.