An examination of memory, love and music, Sarah Rainone's debut novel Love Will Tear Us Apart was published this spring by Three Rivers Press. The author, who is at work on a second novel, recently emailed with us to answer a few questions about the novel and the bizarre cast of characters that populate it.

The L: I've got to first ask you about the book's title and chapter titles. From Joy Division to Nirvana and Radiohead, you've more or less referenced every song that ever meant anything to me as an adolescent. Did you begin with the song titles and write from some sort of thematic core that they represented, or did the titles come after the writing of the chapters?
SR: I started with the song titles and an idea about the setting or time period, then let the characters take over. The scenes aren’t necessarily analogous to the lyrics, but as anyone who had their first kiss to Cypress Hill’s “Cock the Hammer” or broken up with their boyfriend just as the KLF’s “3 AM Eternal” came on the radio, we don’t always choose the songs that remind us of turning points in our lives. That’s not the way life works, possibly because life is not an 80s movie.

The L: Music plays a critical role in the text, and since this is a mutlipe-perspective novel, I couldn't help but find some common threads in your characters' musical tastes. Do you think individual tastes say something about your characters' personalities, or is their taste incidental?
SR: I think that a lot of young people use music not only to express emotions but also as a way to try out different styles and ideologies when they lack the maturity and self-confidence to embrace a more complex identity or set of beliefs. In the early chapters, it would seem as if each character more or less represents a different musical subculture, but as the story progresses, the music fades into the background and the characters reveal a bit more complexity.

The L: The book is a multiple-perspective account of far-flung friends returning for the hometown wedding of Lea and Dan. In structure, I'm reminded of The Big Chill, but in terms of how your book unfolds, I think there's something perhaps more pessimistic at work. In the book's epilogue, "Bonus Tracks," there's such a feeling of deflation and disappointment, even after what should have been a joyous occasion. Is it fair to say that there's a palpable sense of regret and sadness in the book?
SR: Oh, absolutely. For most of the book, the characters are absolutely full of shit, not to be trusted, and, let’s face it, wasted. But I write in the first person, so I’m hoping readers will understand that none of the characters are exactly what they say they are and that their memories are far from pristine. I think that’s more evident in the “Bonus Tracks” section because they’re all coming down. The tuxes and dresses are on the ground, the make-up’s off, the buzz is gone, and we finally get to see who the characters are, what they’ve been hiding, and how lost and lonely they are. That said, I don’t think the book is devoid of hope. These characters are, after all, approaching their mid-twenties, and so naturally they’re selfish, self-righteous, and lacking in self-awareness — and comically so. They’re going to be okay. The L: A little over halfway through the novel, the character Cort gives what seems like an interesting insight into how we should read the novel. "It's weird sitting here with all of them, like there's nothing strange about it, like everything's cool. And maybe everything is, maybe no one else is thinking about how little we have in common these days, or how little we ever had in common..." That, to me, is really the central tension in the book. These people were — or are — the closest of friends. And yet, there are chasms between them. Do you think friendships can last? Or is growing apart just par for the course?
SR: Friendships can last but you have to give them space to evolve. Otherwise, you’re just replaying the same scenes.

The L: I often like the challenge of encountering a novel that presents difficult, even unlikable characters. Some of the people who populate your book are imminently likable while others are more difficult. Ben, on the one hand, is a bit of a jerk but seems mostly good intentioned. Alex is confused and coked-out, but she seems sincere, even vulnerable. Were you setting out to write certain types of characters, or did they evolve over time?
SR: I set out to write from the point of view of the antiheroes. I took the stock characters of modern coming-of-age dramedies — the bitch, the jock, the rebel, and the space cadet — and gave them voice. I wasn’t trying to create realistic “well-rounded” characters so much as trying to inhabit the minds of those who normally stand on the periphery of classic narratives — the bad guys, the clowns — and put them at the center. Because in real life, we can’t all be the heroes.

The L: Following up there, do you find yourself relating to or empathizing with any one of your characters over another?
SR: It changes all the time. I recently did a reading as Shawn and lived in skinny jeans, guyliner and angst for a week. But I’ve always got love for Alex because she can do something I can’t: be a total bitch.

The L: In addition to being a novelist, you've also worked as an editor, and I wonder if that helped or hindered your writing process at all? Did it make you a more critical reviser of your own work, or are the disciplines of writing and editing more independent than that?
SR: I’m a perfectionist so I revise and self-edit a lot, maybe too much. But on the whole, editing and reading so many books has helped me understand what I like to read and what I like to write; I’ve read my book countless times and I still love it, so I think that’s a good sign.

The L: What's next for you? Are you currently working on any more fiction?
SR: Yes. I’m lucky to have a rowdy cabal of voices in my brain, and there are a couple duking it out right now for protagonist status.