Cinnamon Toast and the End of the World (36 page)
story is set in the 1980s, a time before social media, the internet, etc. transformed the teenage experience, when perhaps
people were less open about the details of their personal lives. Do you think Stephen’s experiences would be different if
he had been a teenager in the twenty-first century?
Absolutely. If the story had been set today it would be a lot happier, and there’s a good chance that most of it would have
unfolded in front of a computer. With the internet, Stephen would have access to more information about gay rights and gay
history, he’d be able to get in touch with LGBT organisations and meet other kids like himself – and then there are recent
movements like It Gets Better which has had such positive results. But this is a pre-internet story, and what’s more it’s
set at a time when AIDS was first making its presence known, and back then people saw it as very much a ‘gay disease’. Stephen
is isolated in a way that thankfully isn’t possible anymore.
parents’ behaviours and traits – for example, the phrase ‘It’s the end of the world’ is one used by Stephen’s mother. Is that
something that was inspired by your own experience of adolescence – realising that you end up a little like your parents,
without realising it?
I noticed this happening in the book, but it surprised me – it wasn’t a theme I’d consciously decided to include. My husband
pointed out that three generations of Stephen’s family fall in love with the wrong person and my reaction was, ‘Really? Oh,
you’re right.’ I do think Stephen
is sensitive to any traits of his father appearing in himself because he resents him so much and dreads growing up to be like
him – whenever he realises that he ‘sounds like Stanley’ that’s a signal that he’s gone too far. He tends not to notice when
he’s acting like his mother, unless it’s something obvious, like discovering that Maryna was also shy in high school.
to forget about loneliness. Does this reflect your own view?
Yes, that’s very true. I think as a kid you have very little control over your life – you live where your parents have chosen
to live and go to the nearest available school where you study the subjects on the curriculum, whether they interest you or
not. Music and books are a way of creating your own universe and your own culture. I was also very shy as a teenager and found
that having a book in your hand is a good way to excuse the fact that you’re not talking to anybody.
I chose music that seemed to fit Stephen’s personality. The Smiths was a natural fit as the music is so beautifully sad and
clever, the way Stephen would sometimes like to see himself. I also listened to a lot of 1980s music when I was writing the
book. In fact each chapter had its own ‘mix tape’, and sometimes a song would pop up that was so perfect for the scene I was
writing that I just had to use it. In fact, there were times
I tried to score
Cinnamon Toast
like a movie. I couldn’t include every song I wanted, of course, which is one reason I ran a 1980s countdown on my website
before the book’s release. A lot of the songs on it are part of
Cinnamon Toast’
s ‘imaginary soundtrack’.
I did that on purpose and I hope it wasn’t too frustrating. Stephen is at a time in his life where anything is possible and
I wanted that feeling of openness and possibility to be there at the end – I didn’t want to have his future set in concrete.
I hope anyone reading would get the sense that no matter what happens, he’ll be fine. And for the record, I think they probably
will get together and drive each other crazy for a long time to come.
I wrote all the time as a little kid. I loved reading and I loved writing stories. Then when I hit my teen years I had a complete
crisis in confidence and I thought everything I did was awful. Later in my twenties I wrote plays because I was majoring in
theatre, but I never got further than staged readings. In my thirties I wrote if it was teaching-related: stories for textbooks
and plays for the school drama club. Then I moved to Ireland and I started writing prose for the first time. I was surprised
to find that I loved it. I spent a few years writing short stories, then applied to Trinity’s creative writing programme,
mainly because I was turning forty and thought I had to finally address this part of my
life. I started writing
Cinnamon Toast
in the months before I began classes at Trinity and finished it the summer afterwards.
If I have a project to work on and I’m not teaching, I’ll try to get up at seven or eight and be writing as soon as possible.
I’ll get in three or four hours, then I’ll do lunch, spend the afternoon on errands that don’t take up too much brain power,
have a nap and then put in a few hours before supper and a few hours afterwards. I really have to work at it. And yes, my
husband or the microwave usually does the cooking. Cleaning is something I remember from the distant past.
1. What impression does the first part of the novel, ‘Cinnamon Toast’, give you of Stephen and his life? Did his story take
the direction you expected it to? What surprised you, and why?
2. In the opening pages of the novel, Stephen says of his relationship with Mark: ‘I never even thought about whether we liked
each other. I mean, how do you feel about oxygen?’ And later, he refers to it as an ‘animal kingdom partnership thing’ – Stephen
helps Mark with his homework, Mark protects Stephen from bullies. Do you feel that these remarks accurately reflect their
friendship?
3. The relationships between the adolescent characters – Stephen, Mark and Lana – and their fathers are very significant throughout
the novel. In contrast to Lana’s loving relationship with her father, both Stephen’s and Mark’s fathers are largely (in Mark’s
case, completely) absent. In what way do you think the presence/absence of their fathers influences each of them?
4. The
book’s teenage characters all feel confined by the small town in which they live. Towards the end of the book, Stephen and
Lana leave Riverside to attend university but Mark feels stuck because of family responsibilities – initially as a brother,
then as a father-to-be. How do you think the knowledge that they would soon be escaping their hometown affected Stephen and
Lana throughout the book? And how do you think it affected Mark to realise that he doesn’t have this option?
5. How do you think meeting Adam at the party changes Stephen and his attitude towards his sexuality? And what was your view
of Adam – sympathetic? Hypocritical? Encouraging?
6. How do you think Stephen’s view of his mother changes throughout the book? Do you think they are alike?
7. ‘There was always something that could ruin it’ – Stephen says this regarding happiness on
page 4
. What does this say about
him, his world view and his thoughts about his future? Does he believe that happiness is impossible for him, for everyone
around him? Do you agree?
8. Literature and music remain two elements of Stephen’s life that he can count on: ‘That’s the thing about a book. You can
leave it for years but it’ll still be there, every detail perfect, waiting for you to come back.’ How do you think his attachment
to music and literature, and specifically the types of music and literature he consumes, affect him throughout the book –
his mood, his actions? Is this something you can relate to?
9. How
do you feel about Mark’s and Stephen’s revelations to each other, and Mark’s violence towards Stephen near the end of the
book? Do you think Mark is portrayed sympathetically here? Following their conversation when Stephen returns at Christmas,
do you think there is a future for their friendship?
10. What is your view on the somewhat ambiguous ending of the book? Do you like being left to imagine what happens to Stephen?
Reading is so much more than the act of moving from page to page. It’s the exploration of new worlds; the pursuit of adventure;
the forging of friendships; the breaking of hearts; and the chance to begin to live through a new story each time the first
sentence is devoured.
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