I needed to write something less intense than The Jailer s Book , to allow more distance between the reader and the subject matter. I wanted to let more light in, less steam. When it comes to the language, I grew increasingly respectful of the fact that nouns and verbs do the job they re supposed to, and don t necessarily require much ornamentation.
Evolution focuses on two transracial sexual relationships.
I suppose it is one of the more intense encounters possible between people. A conversation over tea or a game of chess just won t bring the same fullness of response to bear, nor the same level of restriction and transgression. I feel edgy and unclear about my own freedom, greatly relieved as I am by our transformation. Part of the satire is my reaction to the characters involved, more a personal than a social dynamic of writing. Perhaps the political element in the contemporary relationship recedes more into the background.