In Haigh’s novel Rabbit Moon, a young American woman’s parents visit her in Shanghai, where she’s in a coma from a hit-and-run.
How did the idea for Rabbit Moon first come to you?
I wrote this novel by accident. I went to China on fellowship from the Shanghai Writers Association, with the intention of finishing what would become my previous novel, Mercy Street. Quickly, I found it was impossible for me to channel the Boston setting while in Shanghai. The fast-moving city was so completely mind-blowing that I didn’t want to be anywhere else, even in my work.
And the genesis for this particular story?
I witnessed so many traffic accidents during my first few days there—fender benders, bike accidents, bikes colliding with pedestrians—and I became obsessed with the idea of what would happen to me if I was in an accident. They would call my parents, etc. So, the accident that is the inciting event for the novel really grew out of my fear of traffic in Shanghai—which is not a spoiler because in the first scene, the young woman Lindsey is hit by a car.
What was different about writing while in Shanghai?
For the first time in my life, I was writing in public spaces. I don’t normally have the concentration to do that, but because I don’t speak Chinese and because the language is so distant from English that I couldn’t even pick out words, I found myself able to write in cafés, parks, on buses. It was entirely new for me.
The book alternates between the perspectives of the people in Lindsey’s life, including her divorced parents, adopted Chinese-born sister, and new Chinese friend Johnny. Did one of the characters come more easily to you than the others?
Lindsey’s mother, Claire, is the closest to my life and my experiences, but I didn’t always like her. I could feel her frustration at being in a situation where she’s not in control of anything. She’s a control freak, and maybe I am a little bit, too. She’s dealing with her ex-husband, whom she has been very happy not to deal with anymore. And of course, this feeling that it’s the last normal day of her life, the day she finds out her daughter’s been hit by a car. Nothing’s ever going to be normal for her again. She’s a person in extremis.
Is there something you feel like Claire doesn’t handle right?
I don’t know if there’s a right way to deal with these situations, but I think she has a lot of regrets, especially about how her relationship with her daughter had gone completely off the rails.
How does this book differ from your previous seven novels?
This book moves at a different pace, one that’s not at all typical for me. I think that has to do with the rhythm of life in Shanghai, which is so accelerated. It’s the quickest place I’ve ever lived.
