Interview of Jessie Tu by Freya Bennett
Author of bestselling novel, A Lonely Girl is a Dangerous Thing, Jessie Tu is back with her second novel, The Honeyeater and it’s just as much a page turner as her debut.
Young academic and aspiring translator Fay takes her mother on a cheap package tour of France to celebrate her birthday. While the holiday was meant to be a break for Fay and her mother, her mother struggles to relax, and Fay is busy working on a difficult translation. On their last night in France, Fay receives the news that her former lover has suddenly died. Exploring themes of toxic relationships, secrets untold and ultimately the protective bond of mother and child, Tu perfectly captures the complexity of human connections.
We chatted with Jessie Tu on how she is feeling post release:
Congratulations on your second novel, The Honeyeater, how are you feeling now that it’s out in the world?
It’s a sensational feeling, because it’s like being on stage as a comedian and putting some joke out there and now I have to stand there and wait to see if the audience laughs or not. I can’t wait to see what people make of it. It’s a monumental privilege to write something and have other people (strangers) read it.
As someone who has just started getting really into translated novels, this book came at the perfect time, I loved having an insight into what it takes to be a translator. What inspired you to write about translation?
I think I was beginning to form a clearer idea of what true love looks like — and beginning to see that it wasn’t rose-gifting or romantic getaways or love letters or sweeping gestures (everything we’re taught by Hollywood to believe what love is) but instead — it was attention. And I was seeing clearer who the most attention-paying people in the world of books and words were, and I often just wondered what it takes for someone to take on the role of translating someone else’s book, instead of writing one themselves. To me, it felt like the equivalent of someone ushering onto stage someone else, rather than taking the stage themselves. There is something so ego-less about that, and which I found to be incredibly graceful and admirable.
I just think that translators are the embodiment of the sort of thankless devotion and under-recognised forms of love that make the world go round – which is unpaid care, done by women. So much of what translators do is often unpaid (they often operate as a writer’s advocate, promoting the writer’s work in another language). To me, it appeared that the sort of work that translators do is not unlike the work that women do every single day – emotionally supporting someone who wants the limelight, helping them over years by providing unpaid emotional support, providing a shoulder to cry on, and giving up their time to alleviate the anxieties that people who want to be known have.
Have you ever been a translator before? If not, how did you conduct research into this area?
No, I’m not a translator. I can speak Mandarin (it’s my native tongue) but I only have the vocabulary of a 10-year old. In researching for this book, I spoke to translators and read translators’ notes in books in translation and read books about translation, which there are a lot of!
What do you love about the art of translation?
Its commitment to a faithfulness in the truth of the original text. The utter sense of not putting your own ego at the centre of a text. I find that incredibly humbling and beautiful.
You have had so many careers, do you feel you have found your calling with writing?
Absolutely. All I want to do is write books. If I can continue to write books for the rest of my life, I would consider myself extremely privileged and lucky.
Before you settled on being a writer, you taught music at a refugee camp in Palestine, what was that like and with everything that’s going on in the world at the moment, how’re you feeling?
Teaching in Balata was a privilege. The kids were incredible, bright, charismatic and unbelievably kind. My heart continues to be filled with anger and hurt at the horrors being perpetuated against the humans in Gaza.
What advice do you have for new writers starting out?
Don’t let other people tell you what is good writing and what is bad writing. The way forward is to tell yourself you are great and to keep believing that with an unrelenting devotion. There will always be doubts (writing is a life of uncertainty) but if you try your best to keep on believing in your work, something will stick.
What do you want people to take away from The Honeyeater?
I hope people will be more attracted to reading books in translation.
Can we expect more great novels from Jessie Tu?
I’m working on a book about three female filmmakers — it’s basically an excuse to watch all the movies I’ve always wanted to watch but haven’t put time aside to watch. I am having so much fun and joy writing it which is a miracle I am forever grateful for.
The Honeyeater is out now. Head to our Instagram for your chance to win a copy!
