Reading With Robin: The Ice Cream Queen
Sunday, July 12, 2015
“Come and get it!” How clearly I recall hearing those words when the ice cream man (back in the day it was always a man) would ring those magic bells. Reminiscent of all things good about summer and ice cream is Susan Jane Gilman’s first novel, The Ice Cream Queen of Orchard Street. Susan will be in Rhode Island next week for a special event happening at Barrington Books on Thursday, July 16th at 6:30pm. For ticket info please click here.
Q- The Ice Cream Queen of Orchard Street, the paperback just hit the shelves. What are your hopes for the paperback release?
A- “This big, delicious read is a Target Book Club Pick for summer – and both its edition and the new, “regular” paperback come packed with a terrific “reading group guide” and an in-depth interview with the author (me), so there’s lots to sink your teeth into. I hope book clubs all over the country read it in droves and love debating it over ice cream or frozen yogurt – laughing over some scenes, crying over others, arguing about whether the main character is a villain, victor, victim, or all three, etc.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST“I’ve been told that “The Ice Cream Queen of Orchard Street” is a deceptively literary and morally complex page-turner with a controversial female anti-hero at its heart. It’s my intention that the epic tale of Lillian Dunkle touches readers, compels you, gives you pause, takes you on a gripping journey through America and 20th century ice cream history, entertains you, challenges you, turns classic stories and assumptions on their heads, and haunts you long after you’ve set the book down.”
• The paperback cover is quite different than the original which isn’t always the case. What do you think of the new cover?
A- “I love it. The vintage photograph on the cover is of the corner of Hester and Orchard Streets on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in 1913, the very place and year that my novel begins. It’s also a block away from where my great-grandparents settled when they first arrived in America, so it’s personally meaningful for me.”
“These streets were a gateway for millions of immigrants when they first arrived in America: Germans, Irish, Jews, Italians –now the Chinese – so many readers will be glimpsing some of their own family history on this cover as well.”
• You live in Geneva and travel back and forth with frequency and ease seemingly -what are your travel tips/secrets?
A- “This sounds like a no-brainer, but on airplanes, good manners are essential for making a flight bearable. (Admittedly, this is sometimes a challenge for me, anxious and pushy as I am).
“Yet I’ve found that if you’re gracious and good-humored to your fellow passengers and the flight crew, you generate good will and elevate the mood in the entire cabin. This is particularly regarding flight attendants. People tend to not even see them, let alone appreciate them. But an upbeat crew makes for a much better trip.”
“When I’m on a long-haul flight, I try to bring the attendants some little treat from wherever I’m coming from – cookies, salt-water taffy, Swiss chocolate. I give it to them as soon as boarding is finished but before they close the doors. They’re so appreciative, and meeting the crew personally helps calm me down, too. It’s better for everyone.”
“So I always say “please” and “thank you” and never treat them like servants or nuisances. In-flight, I try to take off my headphones when speaking with the crew. This might sound elemental or condescending, but you’d be surprised… these little courtesies go a long way.”
• Do you still love ice cream as much as ever or has the novelty worn off?
A- “Are you kidding? My love does not wane, Robin. I am an ardent and faithful fanatic. I could eat ice cream every day, all the time. Still.”
• What are your favorite flavor(s)-and is this mood dependent?
A-“Hands-down, a tie: Chocolate and mint-chip. On rare occasions, okay, I might stray, say, towards Ben & Jerry’s Cherry Garcia Frozen Yogurt, or sample something new from those gods at Haagen-Daz. Certainly, if I’m at a local ice cream parlor, I’ll give special homemade flavors a try – purely for research purposes, mind you. (After all, I am the founder of the Susan Jane Gilman Institute for Advanced Gelato Studies here in Europe). I have tried garlic ice cream, even cannabis ice cream (in Amsterdam, of course, and no, it didn’t get me high, and yes, it was disgusting). But really, there’s no reason on earth to stray too far from ice cream involving serious amounts of chocolate.”
• “What have you read recently that you’d recommend and what are you hoping to get to this summer?
A- “I’ve just finished (and loved) Jenny Offill’s haunting, poetic, “The Department of Speculation”; A.M. Homes’ darkly raucous “May We Be Forgiven,” Elizabeth Gilbert’s engrossing and inventive “The Signature of All Things,” and Rachel Kushner’s brilliant “The Flame Throwers.” Next on my list? Kate Atkinson’s “A God in Ruins”; Brittani Sonneberg’s acclaimed debut “Home Leave”; Charles Baxter’s latest book, “There’s Something I Want You to Do”; Karen Jay Fowler’s “We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves”; Talia Carner’s new novel “Hotel Moscow”; and Adam Johnson’s upcoming collection of short stories, “Fortune Smiles,” due out in August. “
• Wow! That is quite a list. I’m glad I asked. What are you working on now?
• “Um, taking a summer vacation after all the book promotion is done! And then, of course, a new novel. Right now, it’s little more than a gleam in my eye, but it’s coming into being slowly in sentences and fragments, bright molecules floating in the air before me. Stay tuned.”
To listen to yesterday’s radio interview with SJG please click here! Hope to see you Thursday at Barrington Books!
(image_2}ROBIN KALL is Rhode Island’s own book maven. From author interviews to events with best-selling authors, Robin shares her love of books wherever and whenever possible. You can connect with Robin on Facebook and follow her on Twitter, and on her website, which is updated constantly with all new author interviews and bookish information. Reading With Robin is on AM790 Fridays from 4-5pm and on I Heart Radio (search AM790 WPRV)
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