Samantha McLaughlin

Samantha McLaughlin asked Chris Bohjalian:

I absolutely loved Skeletons at the Feast! What was your research process like, especially for those scenes dealing with the concentration camps? {Also, any chance of a sequel?} Thank you for writing!

Chris Bohjalian Thanks for your kind words, Samantha.

I interviewed Holocaust Survivors and Prussians who were living in that part of Germany. The interviews always left me haunted and a little shell-shocked. The stories were devastating. I was deeply grateful to everyone who spoke with me.

And, of course, I read lots of memoirs and histories.

And I needed a lot of maps, as I recall.

Yes, I considered a sequel: the story of the character you meet in the last sentence of the book. Looking back, I wish I had.

Alas, I believe it's too late now; too many years have passed.

But I am so glad you liked the novel. I am very, very grateful.

More Answered Questions

Marc Chua

Marc Chua asked Chris Bohjalian:

What was your creative inspiration in coming up with character names for the main and secondary characters of the Flight Attendant, (I. e the flight attendant Cassie Bowden and her younger sister Rosemary)?

A Goodreads user

A Goodreads user asked Chris Bohjalian:

I hope you don't mind but I used you in a conversation about a Hitler biography with a fellow Goodreads member. I was trying to point out that Hitler was not the sole believer in genocide. That there were many other occurrences throughout history. Have you considered writing an actual nonfiction account of the Armenian Genocide or is there one already in existence that you would recommend?

SherryRose

SherryRose asked Chris Bohjalian:

Thank you for The Sandcastle Girls. It's so beautifully written. I'm amazed that this horror happened and that many Turks don't even know that the genocide ever happened. Over a million people died by such horrible. barbarism and hardly anyone knows it. I'm so glad that you have brought this to light. Do you find many people who know the history of what happened in Aleppo in 1915?

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