| So there I was, riding my usual train one day, in my | | | | at least for a time, at least until Solomon (a Jewish |
| starched white shirt, reading the newspaper and | | | | character fleeing the Inquisition) takes him on. |
| looking out the window, exceedingly happy, when I | | | | |
| saw a book that another passenger was reading. | | | | Imagine my surprise when I discovered that almost |
| The book was "Sliver", but I misread the title and | | | | all of my readers really liked Silver, and a good many |
| believed that the book's title was "Silver", and | | | | of them disliked Solomon, a true hero. My readers |
| immediately envied the author that had come up with | | | | wanted Silver to succeed and Solomon to fail. |
| the idea of writing the memoirs of Long John Silver. | | | | Worse, many of my readers identified with Silver. |
| Where could I buy that book? | | | | They wanted to be as free as him, to strike at their |
| | | | | opponents with impunity. An anti-hero by any other |
| I couldn't help but imagine how I would have written | | | | name is still a hero. |
| the novel, the twists that I would have brought to | | | | |
| the tale and how I would have explored the concept | | | | We admire villains. It is an honest answer and all the |
| of evil in all its forms in my novel. I discovered my | | | | more terrible for it. |
| error when I looked at the title of the book again, | | | | |
| and that same night, on the train ride home, wrote | | | | We are drawn to evil characters, real and fictional |
| the first words of the first chapter in SILVER. | | | | ones, because of a need that we have for them |
| | | | | that is akin to love: "Villain, you complete me." |
| Wait a minute. The exploration of evil? I was | | | | |
| happy. Wasn't I? Well, yes -- and an optimist to | | | | "I know that I do. Now just take this gun and . . ." |
| boot. I loved my job, and had received promotion | | | | |
| after promotion. I was making good, although not | | | | And let’s face it: I am no better. I wanted to |
| extravagant, money. My wife and I were no longer | | | | write about evil to find out an answer, but was also |
| ordering pizza as often as possible on weekends to | | | | entrapped by my character and reveled in his |
| save money. We were no longer watching | | | | maliciousness. |
| television on the floor, but had a couch, a Herculon | | | | |
| couch from Sears no less. We could spill on it with | | | | So much has changed since I started writing Silver on |
| impunity. We were able to go to the movies more | | | | the train many years ago. Both of my children are |
| often, buy the occasional bottle of wine, had lots of | | | | grown. I remain blessed in so many ways. A |
| friends and had started a family. We were | | | | number of our friends have divorced. Some have |
| healthy. So why was I writing about evil? | | | | passed away. We have a wine collection, don't |
| | | | | worry about spending too much for dinner, and have |
| The protagonist of my novel was a pirate after all. | | | | a number of couches -- leather ones that aren't more |
| I might have written about a fun-loving swashbuckler | | | | comfortable than our original couch but match the |
| just like the ones in other books and in movies, but I | | | | rest of the furniture. Our health is okay, although |
| was driven to create a character that was the | | | | we've had our scares. |
| embodiment of evil. Here’s why: I am a child of | | | | |
| a Holocaust survivor and that starched white shirt | | | | "Yes, villain. You complete me." |
| could only protect me so much. My mother never | | | | |
| spoke of her experiences during the war. I had | | | | "Of course I do." |
| studied the Holocaust, and nobody, not a single | | | | |
| teacher, book or student could give me a plausible | | | | How scary we all are, in our starched white shirts, |
| answer why so many people were captivated by | | | | looking out windows and smiling as the landscape rolls |
| such a cruel dictator. I had to try to find out. | | | | by us, optimists, as if we did not know better, as if |
| | | | | we should not be looking over the next hill to see if |
| The Long John Silver that I created is charismatic. | | | | there is a figure there waiting for us with open arms |
| He is strong, witty, cunning, smart and exceptionally | | | | and a pistol. |
| likeable. The reader is supposed to root for Silver, | | | | |