Amanda Hartmann and her followers are often described in terms reminiscent of dictators and cult leaders. How much do you think her apparently sincere belief in God or her “saintly” actions differentiate her from other charismatic leaders of more overtly insidious persuasions? Can you pinpoint the moment when Amanda crosses the line from following the word of God to using religion as an excuse to satisfy her own desires? Do you think she is ever truly aware of the depravity of what she is doing?
The novel carries some heavy political implications. Do you relate any of the people or situations in the book to current conditions in the United States?
How do you feel about the statement that “it’s easy to be ‘good’ when you have someone do your dirty work for you”? How guilty is Amanda with regard to the crimes her brother commits to further their joint agendas?
Bentley Abernathy remarks that “if there is such a thing as redemption, Gus Hartmann earned it” when he sacrificed his life to save Jamie’s. Do you agree with this statement? How much wrong can be righted with one truly sacrificial act? What is it, ultimately, that transforms Gus?
Jamie and Joe say they want to raise their family outside of the United States until they “know that sort of abuse of power can no longer happen in this country again.” Do you think such abuses are happening now? Do you agree that leaving the country is the best course of action, or do you think people should stay and fight such egregious constitutional violations?
Enhance Your Book Club Experience
In the biography on her Web site, the author shares that she meets once a month with friends to discuss books. Spend some time browsing Judith Henry Wall’s Web site (www.judithhenrywall.com).
As a supplement to your discussion about Amanda Hartmann and religions versus cults, try doing a little research to find out how others are debating the issue. These sites will get you started:
http://www.spiritwatch.org/cultdef.htm
http://www.ex-cult.org/General/identifying-a-cult
A Conversation with Judith Henry Wall
Q. What sparked the idea for this intriguing, controversial novel?
A. My increasing discomfort in recent years with the blending of politics and religion that is taking place in the United States.
Q. Authors often remark that they put a little bit of themselves into their characters. Which characters in The Surrogate do you identify with, and why?
A. Creating characters is like method acting. An author must, in a sense, become each of his or her characters and see through their eyes, hear through their ears, think their thoughts, feel their pain, etc., which means that all characters—good or evil—come out of an author’s imagination and his or her particular set of experiences, observations, education, relationships, etc. And I believe most authors keep in mind as they create their characters that even very evil people love their children or have some other redeeming quality and that even the most saintly are not perfect.
This is the first book in which I have created true villains and was rather proud of them. Gus, Amanda, Miss Montgomery, and Mary Millicent were united in their genuine love for Sonny. I didn’t like them, but I understood them.
Jamie, as the story’s protagonist, is the character who most closely shares my own sensibilities. I liked her a lot and suffered along with her, but she is not me. I have never birthed a baby in a blizzard or been on the run.
Q. Did you have any particular religious leaders or televangelists in mind when you created Amanda Hartmann?
A. As a child, I sometimes watched a very famous televangelist “healing” people during his weekly telecast from Oklahoma City. As a college student, I lived one summer near a small church, where—with its windows and doors open to the night air—people “talked in tongues” in very loud voices until the wee hours of the morning. And over the years I have watched televangelists conduct their crusades and have always been amazed by the power these people have over their flock and how readily people give over their own free will to others.
Q. On a similar note, did you have particular businessmen or politicians in mind when you created Gus Hartmann?
A. Yes.
Q. Your story seems to carry some heavy political implications. Are there current conditions in this country that prompted you to craft this layer into the novel?
A. Yes.
Q. The kind of power that Gus Hartmann wields and manipulates to find Jamie Long and baby Billy seems frighteningly possible. What kind of research did you do to prepare that aspect of the story?
A. I interviewed a former CIA agent and closely follow current events.
Q. Are you a mother? What kind of relationship do you have with your family?
A. I am very close to my three children and five grandchildren and all the other members of my large, quite wonderful family. We like and love each other and have great family gatherings.
Q. Have you ever known a surrogate mother? Do you think your portrayal of the dilemma a potential surrogate faces is accurate, one that women who have served as surrogates would identify with?
A. I have never known a surrogate mother but can understand why a woman might want to enter into such an arrangement. In writing the book, I tried very hard to in no way criticize surrogate motherhood per se.
Q. Physical beauty plays a subtle but large role in this book. Amanda is described repeatedly as angelic and beautiful, as is Sonny, while Gus is short and somewhat deformed. It is critically important to Amanda that her surrogate be attractive and athletic. What was your intention with this line of detail?
A. It seemed only natural to me that Amanda, whose own beauty had been such an important part of her appeal and power, would do everything possible to create a perfectly formed, beautiful child to replace her handsome son and to follow in her footsteps.
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