Bookpleasures.com is excited to have Philip Caputo asour guest.

Philip is not just anacclaimed novelist, journalist, and Pulitzer Prize–winningreporter, but also a literary giant with a distinguished careerspanning more than 5 decades.

Born in Chicago in 1941and educated at Purdue and Loyola Universities, he served three yearsin the U.S. Marine Corps, including a 16-month tour in Vietnam. Thisexperience shaped his landmark memoir A Rumor of War, widely regardedas a classic of war literature. Since then, Philip has authored 18books, including novels, nonfiction, and memoirs, and has contributedincisive articles and essays to leading publications such as The NewYork Times, Esquire, and National Geographic.

His work, which oftendelves into universal themes of conflict, morality, and humanresilience, has earned him numerous honors and a lasting place inAmerican letters.

With a career that hastaken him from the battlefields of Vietnam to the front lines ofjournalism and into the heart of American storytelling, Philipremains one of the most compelling voices of his generation, thanksto his unique approach.

Today, we will discussPhilip's latest novel, Wandering Souls, a collection of storiesthat delve into the aftermath of war and the human struggle forredemption, with him.

Norm: Good day, Philip,and thanks for taking part in our interview.

The initial story,Wandering Souls, is compelling. What was the genesis of thecentral, almost mystical connection between the narrator and the lostsoldiers

Were you drawing on realaccounts of "wandering souls" from Vietnamese culture, orwas it more a narrative device to explore themes of guilt andatonement?

Philip: Yes, wanderingsouls was a device to explore those themes, which have obsessed methroughout my career, but it was meant on a more literal plane. 

There is a mysticalconnection among warriors in battle, call it comradeship if you will.I drew upon that as well as what I had learned about “wanderingsouls” in Vietnamese religious traditions and culture. That ideastruck me when I read or heard about missing Americans in Vietnam.

The chance of becomingseparated from your comrades or lost was terrifying to GIs, thesoutheast Asian jungles were spooky, scary, filled with dangers liketigers and venomous snakes, quite aside from enemy fighters. 

Norm: The collection'stitle comes from the first story, but the theme of people haunted bythe past resonates through every story. How did you approach weavingthis common thread through such different settings and charactersfrom Vietnam to the African savanna to a university campus?

Philip: I wrote thesestories over a span of five or six years, without intending to linkthem thematically. It was only when I finished the last one that Isaw a connection and decided to publish them together.

Norm: Many of yourcharacters are seasoned, somewhat world-weary men facing a final testor revelation. What is it about this particular stage of life thatyou find so rich for exploration?

As a follow-up, these menoften seek answers or redemption in physically demanding or dangeroussituations. Is there a sense that the body must be tested to resolvethe troubles of the mind?

Philip: I guess you couldsay that I am seasoned and somewhat world-weary. That happens whenyou’ve lived as long as I have, and had the experiences I have had.As for the link between body-mind, I can only say that most of thethings I’ve done have involved arduous physical endeavors, so I’mfamiliar with them, and write from that familiarity.

Norm: The prose throughoutis exact, whether describing the claustral jungles of Vietnam or therolling deck of a ketch. How does your process differ when writingabout environments you've experienced firsthand versus those you'veresearched? In addition, your descriptions of the natural world arenever just a backdrop; they actively shape the characters'psychology. How do you achieve that symbiotic relationship betweensetting and character?

Philip: The relationshipisn’t something I try to achieve, in the sense that I’m consciousof it. It arises from my nature. I don’t do a lot of research,confining it mostly to getting facts right. 

Norm: In “WanderingSouls,” the narrator makes a decision that fundamentally alters theofficial record and a family's understanding of their history. Thisact raises profound questions about truth versus comfort. As ajournalist and a novelist, where do you personally draw the linebetween historical accuracy and humane deception?

Philip: Well, as ajournalist I’ve always striven for accuracy. But as a novelist, Itry to imagine what makes sense for a character I’ve created. Inthe title story, I thought that the narrator would, as acompassionate human being, elect to spare the family of the missingsoldier from a painful truth for which there was no remedy. 

Norm: "A Near-DeathExperience" presents a fascinating paradox: Lambert's most vividexperience of life comes from dying. How did you develop the conceptthat a confrontation with death could be the ultimate catalyst forfeeling truly alive, even if it leads to self-destruction?

Philip: I’ve been closeto death several times in my life. In fact, I once has a near-deathexperience much like the one described in this story. It’s almost acliche but nevertheless true that on the doorstep of death our senseof life becomes vivid and intense. I don’t know why, you’d haveto ask a psychologist to answer that question.

Norm: The character ofCaptain Wolfe in "Wandering Souls" is a terrifying figurewho corrupts his men. He's described as having a "talent"for seeing the killer in ordinary soldiers. Were you basing him onany specific historical figures or accounts of command dysfunction inVietnam? As a follow-up, Wolfe's manipulation seems to turn the warinto a kind of dark cult. Was your intention to show how theisolation and violence of combat can create a moral vacuum where apsychopathic leader can flourish?

Philip: Captain Wolfe is acomposite character, made up of traits I observed in certain kinds ofleaders I have met. They are “inspirational” in a dark way,tapping into the violence that lurks in almost all men, and perhaps,in some women as well. You state it perfectly; the isolation andinsane violence of combat often destroys morality, allowingpsychopathic personalities to flourish and dominate others.

Norm: “The Deliverer”is a masterclass in slow-burn tension. The discovery of the jade idolshifts the story from a simple sea tale to a moral thriller. At whatpoint in writing did you know that Tyner was smuggling the artifact,and how did you decide on the fire extinguisher as the hiding place?

The story's ending isstarkly ambiguous. Kirby justifies Tyner's death with "It was usor him," but the series of misfortunes suggests Tyner was a"Jonah." Are we meant to see his death as a moral failureby Kirby or a kind of karmic justice?

Philip: To answer yoursecond question: Karmic justice. Kirby is the agent of that justiceand sees himself as such. I knew that Tyner was smuggling theartifact before I began writing. In the process of composition, Iasked myself where I would hide it if I were on board that vessel. Idid a little research and hit upon the fire extinguisher. I liked theirony that the extinguisher malfunctions as a result of his actions,and contributes to the fate of the ship as well as of Tyner himself.

Norm: Food and ritual playa significant role, especially in "Wandering Souls" withthe Festival of Wandering Souls and in "Coils of the Past"with the communal dinners. How important was it for you to groundthese fraught, psychological stories in the concrete, sensory detailsof local customs?

Philip: Very important.Concrete realities are the fiction writer’s raw materials. Withoutthem you have arid abstractions. 

Norm: Animals are centralto several stories, often as symbols or agents of fate: thefer-de-lance and the jaguar in "The Deliverer," the lionessand the elephant in "A Near-Death Experience," the pythonin "Coils of the Past."

What draws you to use thenatural world in this way?

As a follow-up, in "ANear-Death Experience," the elephant's death at the hands ofpoachers directly mirrors Lambert's own fate. Was this parallelintended to suggest that Lambert, in his reckless pursuit ofintensity, has become just another casualty of a violent, indifferentworld?

Philip: I’ve been ahunter and outdoorsman most of my life, so I’m naturally drawn tothe natural world. It’s familiar to me. Your follow up: That’s avalid conclusion, but I did not consciously intend it. I’ve foundthat a writer’s work often has layers of meaning to his or herreaders even though he or she is unaware of them. 

Norm: "Ezra'sDoor..." is a departure in tone, set in an academic setting.What inspired you to write a story about the search for a literaryrelic, and how does Langford's quest for Ezra Pound's door connect tothe broader themes of being haunted by the past?

Philip: I had spoken atWabash College many years ago, and heard the story of Ezra Pound’sdoor. It lay in the back of my mind for all that time, and suddenlywoke up while writing this book. I suppose, at my age — 84 — oneis drawn to hauntings from the past.

Norm; Where can ourreaders find out more about you and Wandering Souls?

Philip: MY WEBSITE contains some biographical information. Or you can simplygoogle my name. If you mean Wandering Souls as a religious theme, Iwould look up anything concerning Vietnamese culture or Buddhism.

Norm: As we wind up ourinterview, with a career spanning memoir, fiction, and journalism,how did the creation of  Wandering Souls feel different?Did you find a unique freedom in being able to explore so many otherlives and dilemmas within one book? As a follow-up, having writtenthe modern classic A Rumor of War, does returning to the themes ofVietnam and its aftermath in a work of fiction like WanderingSouls allow you to explore dimensions of the experience thatnonfiction could not?

Philip: The Vietnam Warremains the most significant thing that ever happened to me. It was,for me, what going to sea was for Conrad and Melville. Creatingfiction of any kind is profoundly different than journalism, whichbinds you to the facts, and facts do not always lead to truth. Ithink I’ll leave it at that.

Norm; Thanks once again andgood luck with all of your endeavors

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