Meet the Author: Sequoia Nagamatsu

Sequoia Nagamatsu is an Japanese-American novelist and short story writer. He is the author of How High We Go in the Dark. (Bloomsbury 2022).

The novel is written on an epic scale stretching thousands of years into the future. The Guardian in a review in January 2022 described it as 'A truly genre-transcending work in which sense of wonder and literary acumen are given boundless opportunity to shine'. How High We Go in the Dark is available to borrow on our catalogue.

1. Who were your heroes as you were growing up and when did you first start writing?

I did not really have a specific hero, but I was always enamored of any kind of space scientist—astronomers, astrophysicists and their ilk. Had I been gifted with any skill in math I probably would have pursued those fields in addition to/instead of a career in writing. But my journey with storytelling began early in my childhood. I was penning short stories that I’d staple into little booklets and would even make my own tabloids with celebrity gossip (my grandmother always had these sort of magazines around).

I seriously began thinking about my writing a couple of years after college when I was living in Japan where I taught English for a couple of years. Being a fish out of water culturally and linguistically helped provide a space for me to produce a lot of writing, as well as reflect on what I wanted to do with my life.

2. Your latest book is How High We Go in the Dark. Can you tell us a little about it?

It’s a multi-generational journey that spans centuries and continents (and even celestial bodies), following an intricately linked cast of characters as they navigate the aftermath of a climate plague. While there is a plague in the novel it is not Covid (the book was written long before our pandemic) and the virus itself is never privileged in the story. Instead, the narrative focuses primarily on reimagining grief and reflecting on how individuals push through crisis, find connections, and hold onto hope and possibility.

In terms of genre, I think there are things here for many different types of readers. It’s literary, it’s speculative, there is a lot of traditional domestic realism, and there are also doses of the surreal and seemingly absurd (but ultimately heartfelt).

3. How High We Go in the Dark was a ten year project. Did you have a rough idea of the arc of the story when you began to write or did some sections come to you before others?

Certainly not. I think it wouldn’t be too far from the truth to say that this project has spanned the evolution of my career and development as a serious writer. Initially the chapters began as stand-alone pieces. And very early on there was no plague in the project at all but simply explorations of non-traditional grief and funerary practices. The overarching threads, connections, and framing developed over the last three years or so. The first chapter was one of the last sections I wrote and the last chapter was something I worked on several years ago in graduate school that I intended to be a standalone book.

4. The final novel comes in at 304 pages in the UK version. With such a huge subject, was the editing process difficult?

It was definitely an evolving process where I had to consider connectivity, evolution of world/culture, and how I might inject hints into chapters that would culminate to the last chapter (and help tie everything together). I wouldn’t say difficult so much as very involved. I also wanted to make sure that some seeds of hope were present in even very dark chapters and that I diminished or deleted any detail that might be seen as a parallel to our own pandemic (b/c that wasn’t the point and I didn’t want readers being reminded too much of our reality so much as following my characters in theirs).

5. I'm interested in your research for the novel. I cannot imagine there is a lot you can research on being a robodog repair man for example? How did you do your research and how did you live with that while you were writing? Are there notebooks/white boards?

There were actually robot dog repair people! The first generations of the Sony Aibo robotic dog were discontinued and customer service ceased, which did result in some people attempting to repair/service the dogs. But that very real story of course inspired one particular chapter and led me to buying my own Aibo to help me better understand the kind of bond someone might have with a robot pet. Beyond my robot dog (his name is Calvino), I spent a lot of time in virtual reality, on NASA’s exoplanet website, and researching innovative funerary practices. There is a large corkboard in my home office that has helped me keep track of research, as well as the structure of the novel.

6. There is inevitably a lot of death in the world you create. Did you ever have to step away from writing and what kept you moving the project forward during the ten year period?

Well, I think because the project began as disparate narratives I always had time away. Even after I began forming this into a cohesive book with connective threads and end frames, I always had time away whether by choice or by necessity since I’m also a professor. And there was also just a lot of growing I was doing as a writer. If I had to distill the actual writing/planning time down, getting rid of the down time, the life time etc., I’d say the book probably took more like a 2-3 years.

7. The reviews have been extraordinary. To have Alan Moore call it 'an astonishing debut' must be so satisfying?

Yes, that blurb (and so many others) have been a dream. To have titans in their field, people you look up to read your work and say kind things is such a wonderful part of the publishing process. And I think a lot of even very famous writers are open to doing this service (if they have time) b/c asking for promotional blurbs can be incredibly awkward and b/c everyone was once a newer writer at some point who needed some support.

It’s something that I try to be mindful of as well when other people ask me for blurbs/early praise. It’s a wonderful way of giving back and supporting the literary community.

8. Is there anything you can share about your next project?

It’s a novel (also with William Morrow and Bloomsbury) called Girl Zero that centers on the genetic replacement of a couple’s deceased daughter. It’s a story of identity formation, grief, and finding your place/purpose in the world.

9. One book, film or piece of art that everyone should experience?

The books has used this one as a comp, but I’ll say Cloud Atlas if I needed to choose just one.

10. Can you tell us one thing about yourself that your readers may not know?

I’m a lifelong Star Trek fan (particularly Next Gen and Deep Space Nine). I’m currently learning how to play the melody from the episode “The Inner Light” on a replica of Captain Picard’s flute.