My guest today is Kate Brody, author of one of my favorite novels of the year, Rabbit Hole, a glimpse of the dark side of online fixation and true crime cases. Theodore “Teddy” Angstrom’s older sister, Angie, disappeared ten years ago. The case remains unsolved and has also undone her family. Teddy’s father, Mark, kills himself on the anniversary of Angie’s disappearance. Teddy soon discovers that her father had been investigating the case through a Reddit community that has become obsessed with Angie. All too soon, Teddy finds herself falling down that same rabbit hole with unforseen consequences.
Kate, welcome to Scene of the Crime. The conceit of this blog is to feature authors with a strong spirit of place. Though your novel is physically set in Maine, I am pleased that you are open to investigating spirit of place on the internet. So, let’s start out with your connection to online communities such as Reddit.
Like everyone else, I spend too much time online. I eschewed social media for years, because I’m a little afraid of it, so when I sat down to write Rabbit Hole, I forced myself to look at the scariest part: Reddit. I ended up a little bit addicted to the site, but now I’m recovered again. I’m not sure I’ll ever have a real sense of comfort with the internet. I am constantly amazed by the way people give up all privacy, cry, complain, confess. It’s alien to me, in a way that makes it a good subject for fiction. I want to figure it out.
What things about the online space make it a unique and appropriate setting for your debut novel?
Rabbit Hole is concerned with the aftermath of a disappearance, and Reddit serves as a perfect “setting” for that kind of story since there are cold case obsessives who gather online to investigate other people’s lives. I was able to create fictional subreddits that would be perfect rabbit holes for Teddy and her dad Mark to fall down in their grief and paranoia.
Did you consciously set out to use this location as a “character” in your books, or did this grow naturally out of the initial story?
I definitely saw Reddit as a collection of voices. The fun part of writing the site was finding a way to recreate that cacophony so it feels like all of these faceless anonymous characters are a part of the story as well.
How does Teddy interact with her surroundings? And conversely, how does the setting affect Teddy?
Teddy goes online initially as a way of looking in what her dad was up to. I think she’s approaching it quite fearfully and cynically at first. But the internet is pretty addictive, and soon enough, she’s hooked on the same thing he was. She wants to believe that maybe these people will provide her with some closure with respect to her sister or her dad.
What’s next for your protagonist, Teddy?
I don’t know! I think the book leaves Teddy in an interesting place. Maybe she has bottomed out, and she’s on her way back up. Maybe she’ll be able to move on and start living for herself. Or maybe all her impulses are still driving her towards destruction, even in spite of her best efforts. I want so much for her.
Are there other writers who influenced you in your use of this particular spirit of place in your novel?
Jennifer Egan and George Saunders are experts at capturing the oddness of communicating via tech without losing the human component of it. I think they both think a lot about voice, and how it shifts and changes online vs. IRL.
Thanks for taking part in Scene of the Crime We will be looking for your next novel!
Scene of the Crime 