New Author Interview: Charlotte Mendelson author of "When We Were Bad"

Loaded Questions with Kelly Hewitt
with the author of When We Were Bad,
Charlotte Mendelson

When We Were Bad, Charlotte Mendelson's third novel, is the story of a particularly badly behaved British Jewish family called the Rubins. The Rubins are lead by the family Matriarch Claudia, a rabbi, who has worked to mold her husband, Norman, and children into the perfect family. But some things aren't meant to be. Just before Claudia's inspirational memoir, a handbook to families of the new millennium, is about to be published the family's faults start appearing left and right. Mendelson's book is a funny family saga about a clan to clean to be true.

Kelly Hewitt: Okay, the book is hilarious. Each of the characters has a secret, a fault, and they all make some pretty terrible decisions. The Rubin family has it all. Leo, the eldest runs away from his bride at the alter, Francis, the next in line admits that she has little or no maternal feelings and is unhappy in her marriage, the youngest Emily is dating a man that turns out to be a woman. Mom, Claudia, and dad, Norman, are holding secrets of their own.What I want to know is which character you think you identify with the most?

Charlotte Mendelson: They all contain a little bit of me, but it's usually very subtle; I've never been a Rabbi, or a runaway mother, or a naughty younger sibling. However, Norman is definitely my inner grumpy old man.

Kelly: I thought it was fascinating that you listed reading synagogue newsletters as one of your sources of information and inspiration. What do these newsletters contain and am I missing out by not getting a hold of a few of them?

Charlotte: They're fantastically revealing and very entertaining. I recommend them, particularly the social pages.

Kelly: You have said that the worlds of American Jews and British Jews are quite unalike. What kind of differences can readers pick up on by reading your novel about a famous but faltering British Jewish family?

Charlotte: What I've found so interesting abou the publication of When We Were Bad is how both British and American audiences respond in such similar ways. For non-Jews, I'm lifting a veil on a little known and even less well-understood world and Jews -- Jews everywhere - seem to think that they know the family I'm describing! For American readers the most obvious difference is, I think, how shocking unconfident many British Jews are about their place in British society. They're a self-conscious, rather nervous and hidden minority, which can make for some fantastic drama.

Kelly: You have also said that British readers are ready for a new kind of fiction, a sort of literature that doesn't involve tweed and repression. You're certainly breaking that mold with When We Were Bad. What fellow British authors do you feel are doing the same?

Charlotte: It's thrilling to see how many British writers are engaging with the non-tweedy world: families with accents, food and habits which are completely unlike those of traditional English society. Americans are used to this; in Britain, we're just waking up to the richness that's all around us.

Kelly: I thought it was fascinating that you listed reading synagogue newsletters as one of your sources of information and inspiration. What do these newsletters contain and am I missing out by not getting a hold of a few of them?

Charlotte: They're fantastically revealing and very entertaining. I recommend them, particularly the social pages.

Kelly: Do you anticipate writing more about the Rubin family in the future?

Charlotte: Sequels are so difficult but I am often asked what happens to Claudia...maybe I should start a newsletter.

Kelly: Not that I mean to pry or apply pressure, but what new work on non-tweed and repression is next on the horizon for you?

Charlotte: Lots more first and second generation Brits are struggling to fit in in a nation where 'clever' is a dirty word and 'quiet' is a compliment, I expect.

Kelly: I am one of those people that find their shelves loaded with books, movies, and CDs. What loads down the shelves of Charlotte Mendelson?

Charlotte: Far, far more books than I can ever hope to read, fantastically bleak new country music, not early enough movies. Oh, and as of today, series 1 and series 2 of Dallas - how I love dysfunctional families.