‘Olive Days’ Author Jessica Elisheva Emerson Says She’s One Book’s Biggest Fan – Daily News

Jessica Elisheva Emerson’s debut novel, Olive Days, is published by Counterpoint. The story takes place in the Pico-Robertson neighborhood of Los Angeles. The story follows Rina Kirsch, a Modern Orthodox Jew who struggles with her faith and her marriage. She spoke with author Michael Schaub about the novel and took questions and answers from the pages of the book.

Question: Is there a book or books that you always recommend to other readers?

“Sabrina and Corina” by Cali Fajardo-Anstine. I recommend it, I give it, I preach it whenever I can. This is a gorgeous, funny, and heartbreaking collection of short stories that explore three of my favorite themes from a native Latino perspective: the American West, identity, and a sense of place.

Question: Do you remember the first book that made an impression on you?

“Could It Get Worse” by Marilyn HirschA picture book version of the classic Yiddish story “The House is Too Full.” It centers on a man who is frustrated with living in a cramped one-room house with his family, and his rabbi who forces him to slowly add things to the house (“bring the chickens inside,” “invite the cow,” “will your wife have relatives?” ), and then slowly take them back out. In the end, the happy family gets their house in order for Shabbat and finds new peace and contentment with each other. I loved it when my parents read it to me over and over again. Once I Became a Strong Independent Reader, a Creepy, Inspiring Feminist The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken made a lasting impression… I must have read it a hundred times.

Question: Is there a book that you are afraid to read?

Tim O’Brien’s latest book, Fantastic America. I pre-ordered this last year and it’s been sitting in my TBR pile ever since it arrived. I eagerly read the first few pages and put the book back. As a teenager I was obsessed with Tim O’Brien’s books, especially “Nuclear Age” and the knowledge that this is the last novel he will ever write makes me nervous to read it. Whether I like it or not, once this is over, there won’t be another Tim O’Brien.

Question: Can you remember a book that felt like it was written just for you (or, conversely, a book that definitely wasn’t)?

“Are you there, God, is it me, Margaret?” is an obvious choice, a personal favorite that speaks directly to my demographic and historical moment. But I had the same feeling when reading “The Sisters Brothers” by Patrick DeWitt. It’s clearly not about my demographic or moment in time: it’s a western about murderers and gold mining, set in the 1850s. It’s a very clever page turner, and as I read, I kept saying to my husband, “I think I may be the biggest fan of this book ever.” (Ego check: DeWitt has a lot of fans.) This book is everything I want in a story, rolled into one gripping read.

Question: What genre or type of book do you read the most and what would you like to read more of?

My bookshelves are filled with fiction. I enjoy reading excellent writing at the sentence level, and I believe I enjoy stories best when they are sad, exciting, complex or ambitious in form. I also love Westerns. Maybe I should read more fantasy. Ursula K. Le Guin, Philip Pullman, Suzanne ClarkAnd Cynthia Voight has written books that are some of my most revealing and enjoyable to read, but it’s a genre I don’t explore often.

Question: Is there a person who has influenced your reading life—teacher, parent, librarian, or someone else?

So many teachers (my high school creative writing teacher who dressed up Polonium and jumped up on the table in excitement!), librarians (in high school my librarian gave me refuge), professors (the late Norman Corwin…), but, of course, I was made a reader on my parents’ lap.

When I was growing up, they never limited me in books: if I took one from their shelf – at any age – be it my mother’s Russian literary books from college or Judith Kranz sex games, they let me read it. They asked thoughtful questions. Sometimes they even took it back themselves.

When I read “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in third grade and had a cool party (you could choose your own book and then make a diorama, throw a party, or write a report, such a deal) I only catered to Sprite. Take it? Well, my classmates didn’t and I was crushed, but my parents, who never served soda at home, allowed us to drink Sprite with dinner that night and talk about fairies.

Question: What is there in your book that no one knows?

There’s a short passage in the middle of the book that’s loosely based on a story my husband told me—about his teenage years—early in our relationship. The book is entirely fictional, and although I love to make up real-life anecdotes, there is almost nothing in Olive Days taken from my real life. So I was very nervous to tell my husband that I was contemplating a fictional version of this particular experience. He was, as always, completely supportive and amazing.