Lulu (2010)
ISBN 9780557267170
Reviewed by Richard R. Blake for Reader Views (06/10)

Today, Tyler R. Tichelaar of Reader Views is pleased to interview Eric Mattingly who is here to discuss his new novel “Skinquake.”

Eric walks in two worlds: the scientific/technological, and the metaphysical. He enjoys writing everything from poetry to short stories to novels. “Skinquake” is his first novel, but not his last—it is a stand-alone, and then he has a seven-book series in the works.

Tyler: Welcome, Eric. Thank you for the opportunity to interview you today about “Skinquake.” First, let me say it’s quite an original title. Will you explain the title to us?

Eric: It is a mixture of a nod to one of my literary heroes, Kurt Vonnegut, in reference to one of his books, “Timequake,” along with skin, of course, for race. I liked the sound, and the idea of taking race and shaking it up.

Tyler: In your descriptions of your book in your marketing pieces, it says that when people ask about the ethnicity of the main character, Randy, it’s an invitation to embarrassment. Embarrassing for who, and why?

Eric: The questioner, because as often happens in life with people of unobvious race, they are not always fond of being continually asked that. Randy feels they are trying to pin him down, label him.

Tyler: Okay, well, let’s say I asked Randy what was his ethnicity? What would he reply? (Should I run for cover?)

Eric: Look out!

“On my mother’s side, my grandmother is half-Irish/Australian and half Maori. My grandfather was Nigerian-American. On my Dad’s side, my grandma was half Mongolian, half Chilean, and my grandpa Lakota Sioux. Further back, I am unsure, but for those of you keeping score at home, this makes me 100% Global Mongrel!!!”

Tyler: Why do you think it matters to people, or at least, why do you think the characters in your book, who do ask Randy about his race, think it matters?

Eric: There are a whole spectrum of reasons in life and this story. On the worst end, it’s an assessment of class. On the best end, innocent curiosity. Most fall in the middle. It’s kind of like that Saturday Night Live recurring skit with the Pat character who was an ambiguous gender. Or imagine if Tiger Woods had never answered media questions about his racial make-up. People often need a certain set of categories known about the other person. And I think, hope, that beneath the whole spectrum is a want to understand something, someone different.

Tyler: What are some of Randy’s issues or problems in terms of trying to fit in?

Eric: Ironically, most stem from him wanting to pin himself down to a label that fits. He has genetics, features, and feelings from several races, and he is trying to work that out, but so far, he is not comfortable in his own skin.

Tyler: I understand a shampoo bottle is the start of a big change in Randy’s life. What is so special about this shampoo bottle?

Eric: It speaks. And then it also does other things to assure Randy he is not hallucinating. It is a being far larger than the bottle...or Randy.

Tyler: Will it be giving away too much of the story if I ask you what the shampoo bottle’s first words are?

Eric: Nope. “You GO boy.”

Tyler: That’s great, Eric. But what led you to writing about ethnicity and race?

Eric: I grew up in the Midwest, around very little diversity in general other than black and white people. The two were ostensibly integrated, and as far as rules and laws, very much were. But beneath the surface, and pretty much along geographical lines, people were not very integrated at all. I wondered why. I have since found that people of a different race are often still only accepted when they adopt the ways of the person or group judging them. This can work out fine, but too often something is lost, to both parties. Also we have become far too entrenched in this general collective slide toward an assumed amalgamation into one people, one thinking, one way of life. It’s kind of a cop out because then those in the perceived majority often have this attitude more like:  everyone else is becoming like MY tribe, so I’ll just wait. It is wonderful to think in terms of how we are all one big human family because it helps foster peace. But we are fools to assume we are all the same through and through, and tremendous fools if we think we have nothing to learn from other branches of that family.

Nowadays, it is in vogue to consider race either meaningless or a construct. This does not explain our differences. One example of a great many is the shape of many Asians’ eyes and the structures around them. There are all kinds of theories, nearly all stem from an assumption of environmental adaptation. But are Asians the only peoples who ever lived on great plains, or in windy areas? And what of blacker skin? Are black people the only ones who were in the sun a lot? Ridiculous.

Then I married a woman of a different race from mine, and through dealing with her and her family, I have learned personally just how different of a direction cultures can view the same things in life.

Then I came across a strange correlation of very specific racial histories while reading two vastly different sources, from very different eras, and that set me on a road of discovery that became so rewarding I wanted to share it with as many people as possible. I took pieces from several sources and made that the backdrop for the story.

Tyler: Why did you decide to write about these issues in a novel rather than non-fiction?

Eric: I like stories. I like fiction—I like the way a good story can contain more truth implied than a dozen sub-par non-fiction books try to say explicitly. I like poetry. Life is not a textbook; it is a story. And this book is all about life. Plus, I could not possibly represent myriad cultures in any piece, non-fiction or fiction, even armed with ancient knowledge. But I think I made an entertaining stab at it.

Tyler: And why did you decide to go a humorous route with the story rather than a heavier, more serious one?

Eric: Oh, there is certainly both within it, but I think humor should never be far away, particularly when dealing with heavy topics, as this story does.

Tyler: Will you tell us about one humorous aspect of the book or a humorous scene in it?

Eric: There is a point where the bottle is listing what he already knows about Randy....

“…You love computer games, but you quit playing them last year after pissing in your sweatpants during the final stage of a 15 hour game.”

“The Zantiz Council was about to promote me to Admiral. Have you been watching me?”

“An admiral who wets himself instead of hitting Pause. Nice.”

Tyler: And how about something serious?

Eric:
The light squeal of the door’s opening stops as Randy’s conscience rears its pretty head and he belches out, “I’m so sorry!”
But the door’s squeal continues. They’ve left.
As if in penitence, Randy keeps his posture until he can’t any longer, then he cries himself to sleep on the couch.

Tyler: What ultimately is the message or understanding you hope readers will come away with after reading “Skinquake”?

Eric: That it has been a helpful stage of intercultural, interracial understanding we’ve been in for a while now, where we look for the common ground and embrace it. But we will never truly unite until we acknowledge and appreciate what each major racial and cultural trunk, including our own, has to teach the rest. A way we can get past the hurdles of hatred, grudging co-existence, then tolerance (which is a stage just begging for a succeeding one), is to understand that each of the roots of the tree of culture are specific, powerful, and meaningful.

Tyler: Will you share with us a little about what kinds of responses you’ve received so far from readers of “Skinquake”?

Eric: Everyone enjoys it for different reasons. The common comment is that it is intense.

Tyler: Eric, I understand you’re busy working on your next novel. Will you share a little bit about it with us?

Eric: “Snake” is a fictional autobiography by a very old man who has worked and lived in the realm of secrets most of his life, and he is planning on taking them to his grave. Unfortunately, he has just discovered that a seriously gigantic snake is in his basement, where loads of those secrets are held. Change of plans.

Tyler: Thank you, Eric, for the interview today. Before we go, will you let us know where online readers can go to learn more about “Skinquake” and “Snake”?

Eric: Sure, Tyler, and thank you for your time: http://www.betweensanities.com

Tyler: Thank you, Eric. I wish you much luck with “Skinquake” and your plans to write a series. I expect we’ll be hearing a lot more from you in the future.