Although it is historical fiction, the book is aimed at any reader because, as I said, it deals with universal themes in literature. In addition, the book stands for political freedom and humanitarian values.
João Cerqueira – 24 January 2024
The Back Flap
It is 1978 in Communist Slavia. Citizens like artist Ludwig Kirchner struggle to survive in concentration camps, whilst the terrifying elites of the regime live in luxury and moral depravity. It all changes in 1989, with Perestroika. Now the former leaders are trying to stay alive, whilst their victims seek vengeance. In the revolutionary turmoil, former crime boss Ivan Fiorov leads the newly formed ‘Freedom Party’, heralding a wave of insecurity that resembles the previous dictatorship.
Revenge, redemption, and catharsis meet head on with recent European history. With Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, alongside a resurgence of populist leaders and neo-Nazi movements across the world, Perestroika: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth is as much a lens into the present as an exciting epitome for the past.
About the book
What is the book about?
More than a political novel, Perestroika is a story about human nature that touches on themes common to all literature: the rise and fall, the struggle for power and survival, the search for truth, love, revenge, and the possibility of redemption. There’s a woman who wants to know who her parents are; there’s another who wants to find her missing father; there are victims of child sexual abuse who want revenge; and there’s a father who wants to protect his disabled son from the political changes.
It is my most ambitious novel for several reasons: it has thirty-eight characters who evolve over a fourteen-year time arc; it deals with a theme—the democratization of communist countries and the end of the Cold War—that changed the world; and, due to Putin’s warlike expansionism and the invasion of Ukraine, it has become topical since, without Perestroika, Putin and other populists would never have come to power. Furthermore, I use El Greco’s Christ driving the moneylenders out of the Temple as a mirror for political and social changes. And finally, Pilate’s question to Jesus, “What is truth?” runs through the entire novel, enters the minds of various characters who give different answers, and closes the story with a twist that I hope will surprise the reader.
When did you start writing the book?
I started writing the book two years ago, after several months of trying to find the story.
The support of my Spanish editor, Max de la Cruz, was very important for me to start writing this book. When I went to Madrid to present The Tragedy of Fidel Castro, I had many conversations with him that gave me the confidence to start.
How long did it take you to write it?
It took me a year to write it. But after that, I needed four months of successive readings and rewrites to consider the book finished. Only then did I let someone else read it for the first time—my wife.
Where did you get the idea from?
The novel Perestroika results from the profound impact of the images of the fall of the Berlin Wall and people demanding freedom in the streets of communist countries. In addition to bringing freedom to half of the Europeans, Gorbachev’s Perestroika ended the Cold War and the threat of nuclear war. However, oddly enough, the topic was forgotten. To my knowledge, there is no film, TV series, or novel—except mine—that addresses one of the most important changes of the 20th century.
Furthermore, I visited Cuba three times and saw with my own eyes how a communist country works: there is no freedom of expression, there are no free elections, there are no human rights, and anyone who protests is arrested.
Were there any parts of the book where you struggled?
I struggled with the transition from the narrator’s voice to the characters’ thoughts; I used italics to separate the two.
The way Lia Kirchner, the main character, interprets her father’s paintings and associates them with political repression was the most difficult part.
What came easily?
What came most naturally was the irony and humour that prevent the book from becoming too dark. The French consul Mathieu Foucault, who takes advantage of Perestroika to make money from pornographic films with Slavian girls made by himself, is the counterpoint to the concentration camps.
Are your characters entirely fictitious or have you borrowed from real world people you know?
The painter Ludwig Kirchner, Lia Kirchner’s father, was inspired by the German expressionist painter of the same name, whose works Hitler considered Degenerate Art.
The People’s Commissar for Culture, Zut Zdanov, was inspired by the Stalinist leader Andrei Zhdanov, responsible for culture in the USSR, who defended socialist realism in art and banned modernism.
President Alfred Ionescu was inspired by the playwright Eugène Ionesco, creator of the theatre of the absurd – which brings us back to the absurdity of communist regimes.
We all know how important it is for writers to read. Are there any particular authors that have influenced how you write and, if so, how have they influenced you?
In order to reproduce the living conditions in these countries, I consulted a wide range of bibliography, including the works of Anne Applebaum. The novels that influenced me are George Orwell’s 1984 and Animal Farm, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s The First Circle and The Gulag Archipelago, Mikhail Bulgakov’ The Master and Margarita and Heart of a Dog, Victor Kravchenko’s I Choose Freedom, Arthur Koestler’s Darkness at Noon, and others.
Do you have a target reader?
Although it is historical fiction, the book is aimed at any reader because, as I said, it deals with universal themes in literature. In addition, the book stands for political freedom and humanitarian values.
About Writing
Do you have a writing process? If so can you please describe it?
Only people who don’t write assume that literature depends on inspiration—something that appears from time to time, falling from the sky.
Writing is a job like any other and requires effort and discipline. As such, every day I sit down in front of the computer to try and create something new. What’s more, when I’m starting a book, I’m always thinking about how to move the plot forward. Inspiration strikes at those times.
Do you outline? If so, do you do so extensively or just chapter headings and a couple of sentences?
In the case of Perestroika, I first wrote down the names of the main characters, their physical characteristics, and the role they would play. If you want to create a new country, you have to create a lot of characters and that’s how I was able to orientate myself in the development of the narrative.
In addition, there were three themes that I had decided to include in the book: child abuse, the search for unknown fathers and neo-Nazis in Europe.
Do you edit as you go or wait until you’ve finished?
I rarely write more than two pages a day because I strive for as much perfection as possible. As such, I started editing from the very first page. As I mentioned before, at the end of the book I do several more readings to correct the text.
Did you hire a professional editor?
My translator was Garry Craig Powell, a writer, and a professor of English literature. So, he was my editor too.
Do you listen to music while you write? If yes, what gets the fingers tapping?
Yes, sometimes the music creates the atmosphere I need for certain situations in the story.
It could be Classical music or Nick Cave.
About Publishing
Did you submit your work to Agents?
Yes, and some asked for the manuscript. I’m waiting to hear back from agents in Eastern countries where I hope to publish translations of Perestroika.
What made you decide to go Indie, whether self-publishing or with an indie publisher? Was it a particular event or a gradual process?
I received four publication proposals in the United States and I am still in the negotiation process. I received an offer to publish in the UK from the Arkbound Foundation and accepted immediately as it is a charitable organization. Of course, I also hope that this encourages interest in the book.
Did you get your book cover professionally done or did you do it yourself?
Arkbound Foundation designers created the cover.
Do you have a marketing plan for the book or are you just winging it?
I am contacting newspapers, magazines, and literary blogs in English-speaking countries, I am offering giveaways, and I will participate in some literary prizes
Any advice that you would like to give to other newbies considering becoming Indie authors?
Never give up.
About You
Where did you grow up?
I grew up in Portugal, in Viana do Castelo, Abelheira. My childhood was spent in the countryside and on the beach; thus, I have a very close relationship with nature. Despite shooting birds and killing mice as a child, today I am a defender of nature and its creatures.
Where do you live now?
I still live in the same place. I live on a farm where I grow fruit trees and vegetables with my wife and our daughter. I no longer shoot birds or kill mice.
What would you like readers to know about you?
I like cats and some dogs. I can’t have dinner without drinking wine. I love champagne. I practice Shotokay karate and have played tennis since I was five years old.
I also practice witchcraft and cast curses on critics of my books.
What are you working on now?
I’m writing a post-apocalyptic story. This theme begins in the Old Testament with the Flood that destroys humanity and continues in the New Testament with John’s Apocalypse. In the 20th century, the main cause of the end of the world in novels was a nuclear war or an alien invasion. In this century, the end of the world is mainly the result of climate change and pandemics. I prefer not to choose a cause for the apocalypse—most survivors aren’t sure what happened—because that implies a solid scientific basis. The book could be called The End of the World Woman and perhaps end with her pregnancy as a symbol of hope for the rebirth of humanity. And if in Perestroika there is the painting by El Greco that runs through the story, in this new novel it is a painting by Caravaggio that induces this woman to revolt against a tyrant who has created a city of slaves.
End of Interview:
Get your copy of Perestroika from Amazon US or Amazon UK.
