Ann Hood’s latest novel explores healing power of a good book

August 25, 2016 12:00 am • Last Updated: August 26, 2016 3:05 pm

By BETTY J. COTTER, Special to The Day

Author Ann Hood (Catherine Sebastian)

Ann Hood’s new novel, “The Book That Matters Most,” seems tailor-made for book clubs. That’s because its heroine, Ava, turns to a book club to get over the grief caused by her philandering husband and the long-ago death of her baby sister.

The book club also has an interesting premise — each month its members get to pick the book that has mattered the most to them. Their selections become an opportunity for the characters to disclose their dreams and heartbreak. For Ava, who picks a book no one’s ever heard of, the selection will lead her down a road of mystery and redemption.

Hood, who lives in Providence, plans to visit at least 60 book clubs between now and year’s end to promote her latest novel. But she also will stop in at bookstores, including Westerly’s Savoy Bookshop & Cafe on Tuesday, Aug. 30, at 6 p.m.

The author of a dozen novels, including “An Italian Wife” and “Somewhere off the Coast of Maine,” Hood also is known for her memoirs of personal grief – “Comfort,” about the sudden death of her 5-year-old daughter, Grace, and “Do Not Go Gentle,” about her late father’s struggle with cancer.

Hood, who maintains a busy schedule teaching writing at conferences and university graduate programs, answered our questions via email.

Q. In “The Book That Matters Most,” the members of a book club each get to pick the book that mattered most to them. But as the author you got to pick all 10 — what was that like? Did you struggle to find the right books for the members to talk about?

A. Anyone who had the pleasure of coming to my house for dinner over the last five years was asked what book mattered most to them. I kept a tally of all the choices, and surprisingly the same 20 or so kept coming up. From that 20 I selected the nine (I made up the book Ava chose) that best reflected Ava’s interior life and the plot of “The Book That Matters Most.” It was actually a lot of fun!

Q. One of my favorite lines from the book is when Honor points out that different books matter at different times of our lives. She says, “… there isn’t just one book that matters most, there might be several, or a dozen.” Did you think about this as you chose each character’s book?

A. I thought about which book best reflected which character. I changed two. John originally chose “Atlas Shrugged,” but as I wrote his character I realized he would never choose that one. And Jennifer was going to pick “The Alchemist,” but I switched her to “One Hundred Years of Solitude” because its themes worked better with mine.

Q. Did the characters “teach” you anything new about their books? Did new insights evolve?

A. The characters didn't, but I reread all 20 books and researched them to explore things I might have missed myself.

Q. As a writer, you’ve attended many book club meetings, and you will be going on a “book club” tour this year. What have you observed about the high and low points of such gatherings? Is there a level at which they can become dysfunctional?

A. I honestly can’t speak to low points or dysfunction since when an author visits they are probably on their best behavior! I love the different dynamics of book clubs. Some take a very literary approach, some focus more on the camaraderie of the group, some more on the food!

Q. This book is also about grief, mothering and infidelity. One mother in particular, Charlotte, could be accused of abandonment. Did you struggle to make her sympathetic?

A. Oh! I didn’t see it as abandonment. She was punishing herself over the guilt she felt after her daughter died. She exiled herself. I found her extremely sympathetic.

Q. The novel also contains a “book within the book,” a title you created. What inspired that?

A. Years ago my son and I were caught in (a) torrential rainstorm while we toured a Stonehenge-like place in England. We actually made up that story waiting for the storm to pass!

Q. What can we look forward to next from you?

A. I have three very exciting projects coming up. Next summer a non-fiction book about the books that mattered most to me growing up. A memoir told through food and recipes. And a new novel, “The Museum of Tears,” which will be published in 2019!