Dallas native Amy Poeppel — author of The Sweet Spot, Musical Chairs, Limelight and Small Admissions — is back with another lighthearted novel of domestic drama. Far and Away features two women, Lucy in Dallas and Greta in Berlin, who decide to swap houses. Of course, the arrangement goes awry, with consequences for the women, their families and their neighbors. We caught up with Poeppel to talk about impulsive characters, the role of the husbands in the book and culture shock.
This conversation has been edited for clarity and length.
Last-minute — some might even say rash — decisions power the plot in this novel. Are impulsive characters more fun to write?
I loved writing about Greta and Lucy, strangers from across the world who make a rushed decision that sets Far and Away in motion. Both women need to get out of town … and fast. Greta, an art dealer in Berlin, is never one to be reckless, but when her husband takes a last-minute job at UT Southwestern, the couple needs to find a place to live, pronto. Greta agrees to a house swap, which means people she’s never met will be moving into her beloved, antique-filled apartment in one of Berlin’s finest neighborhoods. Meanwhile, Lucy is hell-bent on getting her family out of Dallas after her son is swept up in a scandal on the eve of his high school graduation. Lucy’s mother accuses her of being impulsive, but maybe she’s being gutsy to whisk her family away from the harsh judgment of the community. It’s a leap of faith as they board their international flights, but once Lucy and Greta arrive on each other’s doorsteps, everything begins to change.
Lucy’s husband, Mason, is incommunicado at a biosphere-type science experiment. Greta’s husband, Otto, is preoccupied with his work and professional grievances. So who is more absent in his marriage: Mason or Otto?
Communication, or the lack of it, is central to Far and Away, a book in which misunderstandings abound because of language barriers, satellite snafus and secret crushes. Mason is off the grid in a Mars simulation, and Otto is busy discovering all that Texas has to offer, from the backyard pool to the joys of baseball. I don’t want to give too much away, but the distance of Lucy and Greta’s husbands — whether physical or emotional — doesn’t necessarily speak to a lack of connection to their respective wives. Maybe distance can make the heart grow fonder.
An accusation that Lucy’s son Jack is a misogynist and a bully is a key plot point. How do you balance addressing a serious concern in a comic novel?
Humor can come from all kinds of places, even in serious situations. Finding humor when things are tough is something I appreciate, in life and in fiction. And whether a book is comedic or tragic or somewhere in between, readers need to care about the characters and their circumstances for anything else to matter. I hope readers will root for Lucy’s teenage son Jack, missteps and all. He deals with crime and punishment, sure, but he is determined to prove himself — even if he has to do some pretty wild things to get there.
Culture shock provides much of the humor. Was it easier to lampoon the Texans or the Germans?
As a native Texan who married a German, I feel a deep loyalty to both places. Texans are known for being open, friendly and welcoming, while Germans are generally more reserved and formal. Germans are modest about wealth, while Texans don’t mind a little flashy extravagance. When Otto is introduced to Costco, the scale is a total shock to his German sensibilities, and he is thoroughly wowed. Lucy has to adjust from living in a modern house with a two-car garage to a tiny apartment in a four-story walk-up. And Greta, in turn, has the pleasure of discovering the Dallas Museum of Art, along with the sound of Lucy’s mother yoo-hooing her way into the kitchen uninvited. I loved bringing these cities to the page.
The ending has a bit of a Jane Austen vibe. Who are your literary inspirations?
I’ve read and loved Jane Austen’s novels, so it’s fun to think that an Austen vibe would come through in Far and Away. There are, in fact, many British writers I admire, including Barbara Pym, Margaret Drabble and Penelope Lively. And I am a die-hard fan of American writers like Elinor Lipman, Terry McMillan and Stephen McCauley, authors who consistently rejoice in the complicated delights of family, friendship and love. Other must-read writers are Emma Straub, Jesmyn Ward, Annie Hartnett, J. Courtney Sullivan, Ann Patchett, Meg Wolitzer and Steven Rowley, whose books I always want to live inside.
What’s next for you?
I am currently working on a novel that opens as Katherine Adlon, or Kitty to all who love her, is celebrating her 60th birthday in her New York University faculty apartment. Friends and out-of-town family are arriving, unsure of the mood given the recent death of Kitty’s professor husband. But one thing is clear: The cardboard boxes stacked up in every corner of her home reveal that, like it or not (and her grown kids don’t like it one bit), Kitty is moving out. No one wants to see her go, and her children are not shy in sharing their opinions on her next step, even as secrets about Kitty’s plans come to light. Stay tuned!
Far and Away
By Amy Poeppel
(Atria/Emily Bestler Books, 400 pages, $18.99 in paperback, due out June 10)
Author appearance
Amy Poeppel will be at Interabang Books on June 12 at 6 p.m. to discuss the book and sign copies. Interabang is at 5600 W. Lovers Lane, No. 142, Dallas.
