The Order of Nature
Page 31
As they kept driving, passing the same ramshackle shops and buildings that had unnerved him on that first drive from the airport, Andrew saw that everything was shuttered. The yellow-stained bottles of fuel were yet to be lined up on the roadside. The workers had yet to arrive for another day’s work that would once again leave their bodies greasy and worn. It was quiet. The music that blared from shops and stands was not yet turned on. The road around them was almost empty. Even the trees and bushes were still. It all seemed so completely devoid of movement. And though it was early, when everything ought to have been still, seeing the morning frozen like that made Andrew remember all of a sudden. Of course, it was a Sunday.
Acknowledgements
The idea for this novel was inspired by periods of living and travelling in East and West Africa, in countries where homosexuality is illegal. It also followed a semester teaching law in India, less than a year after the Supreme Court affirmed India’s criminalization of homosexual activity. During my travels, and at Toronto’s World Pride in 2014, I had the fortune of meeting advocates from several of these and other countries. These advocates did not originally set out to lead movements or court challenges, but owing to circumstances in their societies, they have. It was never their dream to have their pictures in newspapers; they envisioned a life without threats to their safety.
Speaking with each of these individuals helped shape my outlook on the continuing struggle for LGBT rights. We can learn a great deal from their ideas and experiences. Their resilience and optimism deserves our support and admiration.
Writing a novel for the first time is a daunting task. I was fortunate to have a wide network of family and friends who were willing (and happy?) to take significant amounts of time to offer thoughts and insights over various drafts. Your comments made the finished product stronger and your encouragement provided critical reassurance. Most of all, the conversations we had about the book, as if it was a real book with real characters, were surreal experiences for me. And so, to the following, you have my gratitude and sincere thanks: Danny Auron, Marlon Danilewitz, Kristi Evelyn, Steven Friedman, Jon Katz and Lisa Lipschitz, Jill Lustig, Carol Moses, Ruth Panofsky, Bill Perry, Amy Rechtsman, Robbie Roth, and Spencer Shiffman.
Good neighbours in life are not to be overlooked, especially when one of them has a doctorate in English. Dr. Heidi Craig was gracious enough to act as my English editor, pointing out stylistic and grammatical faux pas I didn’t know existed. Thank you.
My editor, John Paine, worked with me and pushed me to think in a more sophisticated way about how to take a good story and turn it into an interesting novel. Thank you for the challenge, and for assisting me as I strove to meet it.
I’d like to sincerely thank my family. To my in-laws, the Friedmans, though not all of you could commit to reading drafts in the tight timeframes I required, your support and curiosity throughout helped keep my determination going. To my brother, Robert, your glowing review of the first seven pages was one of the highlights of the drafting process; you could’ve stopped there. Thanks to you and Jaclyn for bookending this journey with unrivaled enthusiasm. To my dad and Nancy, you have always encouraged me to write, especially when I was just starting. Without that, I would not have had the confidence to undertake this project. My mom, Nurith Safir, spent years trying to impart to me one crucial piece of advice, “open your heart”. I don’t think I could’ve written this book the way I did had I not listened. Thank you.
While we’re on the subject: Mark. On so many levels, this book would not exist without you. The time and energy that you put into it, acting as my editor and agent extraordinaire, made it far superior than I could have ever done on my own. Each time I saw you sitting at the computer, going line-by-line, and then pushing me to do better, I was amazed by your commitment and abilities. It’s just one more reason I’m the luckiest guy to have found you. Hillel was right.
Last, a note about The Gambia. At first I questioned whether to set this novel in The Gambia or a fictional country. I was nervous about telling a story that would result in an overly negative image of the country and its people. Considering the warmth with which Gambians welcomed me and the fond memories I have of my time living and working there, this was a prospect that did not sit well. On the other hand, the truth is that in the past, the Gambian government has espoused some of the most hateful rhetoric towards LGBT individuals, a sentiment that found widespread support throughout the population. It was the reality of this contrast, a place simultaneously beautiful and cruel, that helped me grow comfortable with setting the novel there. In a way, that contrast makes it easier, for I would like to believe that a place that is capable of such beauty and generosity of spirit is ultimately incapable of forever seeing its brothers and sisters as anything but.