Emily St. John Mandel on America's 'No Ceiling, No Floor'

Emily St. John Mandel's new novel, 'Exit Party,' begins in the aftermath of a second American Civil War. The book, set for imminent release, drops readers into a fractured United States through the eyes of protagonist Ari, who observes blossoming jacaranda trees feeling 'like grace.'

Mandel, the author of 'Station Eleven' and 'Sea of Tranquility,' spoke to Defector about the book's origins. She stated that the current political landscape, which she follows closely, feels 'incredibly divided.' This division inspired the novel's core premise of parallel realities. 'It's more that we don't agree on what reality is,' Mandel said.

The Spark of a Parallel America

Mandel cited China Mieville's novel 'The City & The City' as a key influence. That book's concept of two cities occupying the same space, with citizens trained to ignore each other, once felt fantastical to her. 'As the years pass living in the United States, it feels less and less fantastical,' she explained. Her new novel features an 'A side' world grappling with civil war fallout and a 'B side' that is a surveillance state, both containing a sought-after painting.

The author clarified she has no prophetic insight, despite her previous novels touching on pandemics and fragile supply chains. 'I just read the news. I have no inside knowledge,' she stated. She described herself as someone who notices patterns, aided by an 'overdeveloped imagination.' For 'Station Eleven,' the pandemic was merely an efficient plot device to create a post-technological world. 'I had to end the world somehow,' she noted.

Living With 'Infinite Risk'

Born in Canada to a Canadian mother and an American father, Mandel holds dual citizenship and now lives in the U.S. She reflected on her complex relationship with the country, recalling a conversation with fellow Canadian-American author Omar El Akkad. They discussed the opportunities available in the U.S. That might not exist elsewhere, contrasted with a pervasive sense of danger.

Mandel quoted El Akkad's description of life in America: 'There's no ceiling and there's no floor.' She adopted this phrase as her own view. 'There's incredible potential and possibility and also really unacceptably high risk,' she said, describing her relationship with the country as 'slightly uneasy' yet filled with gratitude for the life she has built.

The Mechanics of Belief and Fiction

The interview turned to the speculative elements in 'Exit Party,' which involves a scientific accident allowing travel between parallel worlds. When asked if she believes in time travel or parallel universes, Mandel replied, 'I want to believe. Do I believe? Uh, no, I don't.' She acknowledged the vast unknowns in physics and consciousness, leaving the door open for possibility. 'Why do we always assume that we're somehow at the apex of the story?' she asked. 'This could just be the opening chapter.'

For her writing, Mandel prioritizes character over technical explanation. She recalled writing the time machine in 'Sea of Tranquility' and initially researching plausible future technologies. She then realized that if she doesn't explain how a car works in a contemporary storyline, she shouldn't obsess over time travel mechanics. 'It's just transport,' was her conclusion. Her goal is to create a scenario that feels 'plausible within the context of a work of literary fiction.' She contrasted her approach with that of hard sci-fi authors like Cixin Liu, who look deeply into scientific concepts.

Mandel's interest lies in human response. 'How do these people respond to these strange or extreme scenarios?' she asked. The two worlds in 'Exit Party' serve as a lens for that exploration, with neither presented as a preferable future.