The mystery genre is one of those loved genres that never stops evolving not getting new and amazing books to be added to your TBR list. One of those books is The Department by Jacqueline Faber.
Faber, holds a PhD in Comparative Literature from Emory University and even taught in the Expository Writing Program at New York University, for which she received a teaching award. Her rich academic background perfectly blends with the flair for suspenseful storytelling.
This debut novel is taking the literary world by storm with glowing reviews from Publishers Weekly and our own publication. The Department is a dark academic thriller, the book delves into the mysterious disappearance of a college student and the secrets unearthed by a struggling philosophy professor.
We had the absolute pleasure of reviewing her new book and even had the chance to talk to her about writing, the novel’s influence, and her upcoming works.
Let’s dive into this exclusive interview with Jacqueline Faber and uncover her way of thinking and approach to writing.
I loved how much your novel was centered on female experiences. Can you talk about what drove that narrative choice? What were your intentions in prioritizing the voice of a character like Lucia? And what were the difficulties?
“From the start, Lucia haunted me. I felt an immediate connection to her character. I could see her face so clearly on a missing person poster. I could hear her voice in my head. All this to say, I understood her moral ambiguity, her struggle to be seen, her recklessness as an attempt to combat a diminished sense of her own power. The challenge was figuring out how to render her trauma on the page, how to show the devastating repercussions of an early experience that never fully lets her go.“
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As your debut, this book was incredibly exciting for me as a reader. I can’t wait to see what you write next! Can you talk about the influences (writers, musicians, artists) that were most important to you as you wrote this book?
“Music plays a big role in this book. At times, the narrative felt propelled by the wild, intoxicating rebellion of bands like Sleater-Kinney, Liz Phair, and The Slits. Other times, it felt calibrated to the seductive bossa nova beats of Nouvelle Vague.“
“But the book is equally inhabited by a medley of writers who took up residence in my brain during graduate school and still roam the halls. Rilke, positing death as something that is our ownmost but of which we must become worthy. Nietzsche, tearing open all simple binaries. Virginia Woolf with stones in her pockets as she wades into the River Ouse.“
Which of the characters in this book are your favorite and least favorite? Who was the most difficult to write?
“Lucia has my heart. Neil does too. To be honest, I needed to find a way to connect with even the most depraved of my characters in order to write them. I bought into their conceits, misbeliefs, and pathologies enough to make their stories feel real.“
“Neil was probably the most difficult to write because he alternates between obsession and a brand of existential lethargy that sometimes feels like the opposite of obsession.“
As a working writer, who are some of the other writers working today who you most admire and appreciate?
“I’m obsessed with Stephanie Danler (Sweetbitter), who makes language feel fresh and alive to me. George Saunders (Tenth of December), who exposes something of our human desires, frailties, and fears, all while inducing belly laughs in the reader.“
“I’m intrigued by a certain experimentality that I don’t yet have the courage to attempt myself. Rachel Kushner’s Creation Lake feels bold in its willingness to engage so brazenly and theoretically with subjects like Neanderthals and ancient farming methods.“
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What project or book are you working on next and can you tell us anything about it?
“I’ve just finished writing a book about a woman who meets a stranger claiming to have information about her past. When the stranger’s dead body turns up, it sends my main character running back to the hometown she fled decades earlier in an effort to uncover the family secrets that lay buried there.“
“It walks the line between family drama and literary mystery. Fingers crossed I pull it off.“
This was an amazing way to get into the mind of an author with deep insights into her work and character creation. We would like to thank Jacqueline Faber for taking the time to answer our questions.
The Department releases on February 4th, 2025, and will be available wherever you buy your books. Do not miss it!
