The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming


 
The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming: A Christmas Story by Lemony Snicket, illustrated by Lisa Brown, was published by McSweeney's in 2007, and is being reissued this year along with a latke-embellished color-changing mug. This sardonic story tickles my funny bone every time, so I am celebrating its return by interviewing illustrator Lisa Brown and author Daniel Handler (aka Lemony Snicket). Enjoy, and Happy Hanukkah!


Heidi: I'm so excited about the re-release of The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming! How did this come about? Why now, 16 years later?

Lisa: Even though we have been getting regular requests for the book over the years, we thought that our Latke’s time had come and gone. But then a group of benefactors, including the Seldin/Haring-Smith Foundation, who clearly couldn't live without it, approached McSweeney’s (now a nonprofit press), with the idea to reprint it this season. We were absolutely thrilled! And McSweeney’s threw some delightful mugs into the mix, too! Huzzah!

Heidi: What was the original inspiration for this book? And which of you first came up with the idea?

Lisa: It was absolutely Mr. Snicket’s idea. But like everything else we’ve worked on together, one of us has an idea and we end up chewing it over together. Honestly, I think that the latke character was based on me. Despite my best intentions, I have always managed to feel a bit grumpy, jealous, and misunderstood during the Christmas season, which seems to last for 6 months at a time. It’s so ubiquitous in majority Christian countries, so beautiful and omnipresent. Hanukkah (Chanukah, Hanukah) on the other hand, is a minor Jewish holiday that someone decided at some point was the equivalent of “Jewish Christmas.” But IT’S A TOTALLY DIFFERENT THING! AAAAAAH!

Daniel: All of our people have a latke inside them which screams occasionally over Gentile circumstances.

Heidi: The subtitle of this book is "A Christmas Story." What makes it the most Jewish book you've ever created?

Lisa: See above. The main character is a kvetch, and the book is an explanation, a diatribe, and ultimately, an interfaith homily. That’s all very Jewish, in my opinion.

Daniel: All books--especially anything called a Christmas story--are Jewish, and if you want to argue with me about this, that's Jewish too.

Heidi: When you worked on this book, how did the story and/or the art change from original inception to finished product?

Lisa: The art started as more of a joke than anything else…I was trying to produce it in such a way that it would look very much like clip art. But as I was creating it, it became something else. More sweet and funny than just a cheap joke.

Heidi: Collaborating with your spouse must be very different from the usual author/illustrator relationship. Please talk about what it's like to work together. 

Lisa: Aha, so now Mr. Snicket has been unmasked! It is always wonderful to work together. It’s not so different than our solo work or that with other folks, since we look at and edit everything that each other does. My only beef is that Daniel seems to write so quickly that he might hand me a story over dinner, and then ask me at breakfast whether it’s done yet.

Daniel: If you make the coffee in the morning, you're allowed to ask any question you want.

Heidi: Over the years, what responses have you gotten to this book? 

Lisa: In general, pure delight. A lot of folks like it as a way to explain Hanukkah to people who don’t know about it, and many interfaith families appreciate it as a way to integrate their celebrations. As the pine tree says “…different things can often blend together.”

Daniel: Once on the street, someone shouted "Latke!" at me. But they might have just been requesting food.

Heidi: Do you prefer sour cream, applesauce, or some other latke topping?

Lisa: I am solidly in the applesauce camp. The latkes my family served when I was growing up in a kosher home were always accompanying meat dishes, so no sour cream for us. Any other latke toppings are sacrilegious, much like blueberry bagels or chocolate chip hamentaschen.

Daniel: Applesauce normally, although the occasional latke-sour cream-caviar treat is quite delicious.

Heidi: I usually ask guests for a Tikkun Olam suggestion. What action would you like to invite readers to take, to help heal the world?

Both: Right now, Tikkun Olam needs to begin with understanding. Sometimes we feel misunderstood, and that can make us angry. But we need to sit with our differences, however hard that may be. We try to support those amazing people who are working towards peace, understanding, and taking physical care of folks who are caught in the crosshairs of the anger and misunderstanding. 

Some folks we appreciate who are working towards that goal in a very misunderstood place right now:
Heidi: Thank you so much for joining me on The Book of Life, and for contributing this hilarious book to our world!
 
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