Points on the Compass that Matter Most in Fiction

"Sometimes people ask me why so much of my work is set in Northern New England and the answer is actually pretty simple. It’s not merely that this is where I have the great privilege of living. Rather, my books are set in Northern New England because it is a culture in the midst of immense change and transition and those are the points on the compass that matter most in fiction: change, transition, human transformation. Whether it is the environment versus development, home birth versus hospital birth, alternative medicine versus traditional medicine, or all that baggage that we bring to gender and sexual orientation. The small world in which I live is a glorious microcosm for changes occurring across the country and an extraordinary place to explore it in novels and fiction."

- Chris Bohjalian