It takes years to fine-tune a work that is as good as Matthew Blake’s ‘Anna O’. At first glance, it might take the readers a minute or two to even believe that this is indeed Blake’s first novel. He has been able to pen down an incredible thriller that is literally unputdownable. From the setting to the characters, you can just visualise this impeccable novel being turned into an OTT series that you cannot wait to enjoy with a bowl of popcorn in your hand. The influence of Agatha Christie and Sigmund Freud lingers through the pages of the book only to make this a remarkable read!
In an exclusive conversation with News18, the brilliant author talks about his work, the influences and matters that shaped it and more-
First of all, Congratulations on Anna O. I had the most amazing time reading it and it’s quite unexpected to get this kind of writing from a debut author. How does the response make you feel? Did you sort of anticipate this from your debut work?
Thank you! I’ve been overwhelmed and so thrilled by the global reaction to Anna O. I always hoped that the idea of sleep would resonate across many cultures and continents as it’s one of the few truly universal experiences. And it’s been phenomenal interacting with readers from so many different countries.
What interests me is the very concept of the book. How did you come up with the idea and what was the process like of crafting this psychological thriller that also has the raw smell of a crime fiction?
I came up with the idea for Anna O when I discovered the real-life stories of people who commit murder while sleepwalking and the mystery illness known as ‘resignation syndrome’ where people fall into a deep sleep for years on end and don’t wake up. The key to a high-concept thriller is to ensure it’s always grounded in reality and that’s why all the things that happened in Anna O are based on real cases. Lots of readers tell me they’ve become obsessed with all the real things in the book and what could really happen to them when they sleep.
In a prior interview you had mentioned, “I hope readers will enjoy a fast, twisty mystery thriller with great characters.” The characters in the book are very well-sculpted, you can hardly stop wanting to know more about them. Was that your intention and did you have any real-life inspirations for the characters?
Yes, I modelled the characters on various real people and often put lots of different people together to create a fictional character. The ultimate mystery for any thriller writer to explore is the mystery of human beings themselves and the secrets and contradictions within us all. We all hide things from other people, and often even hide things from ourselves, so exploring those character dynamics was fascinating.
I am sure you have been told before but there is a hint of Agatha Christie’s ‘And Then There Were None’ in your writing, I am not going to specify the part so as to not give away much for our readers. But was that a conscious choice that you made?
It was. That book was one of the first books that made me fall in love with the genre of mystery fiction. It’s the bestselling mystery of all time and Agatha Christie generally has been a huge influence on my writing. She was known for producing jaw-dropping twists that broke all the rules. While I was writing Anna O I kept imagining what someone like Christie would do if she was still writing today. So I tried to write a twist that even the most experienced psychological thriller reader wouldn’t see coming!
Of course, the influence of Sigmund Freud and his case study on Anna O is very evident from the get-go but could you please elaborate on that a little more?
Anna O was the alias given to the most famous patient in all of psychology. Her case is the first case study in the landmark book published over 100 years ago called Studies in Hysteria which transformed the way we view the human mind. Reading that book today reads like a detective story and is all about the mystery of the mind. I wanted to pay tribute to the history of Anna O and show how treatment for Anna’s condition goes all the way back to that book and the work of Freud and others.
The setting of the book is raw and takes one back to novels set in London in the early 70’s and 80’s. What was the inspiration like behind the setting and as a writer how did you balance eerie and neutral moments?
I live in London and it’s such a great city to write about as it echoes with famous writers like Shakespeare and Dickens and characters like Sherlock Holmes. I was inspired by all those elements and how sprawling and historic London is with the very modern right next to the very old. It is a great place to set a mystery and I hope the setting feels suspenseful and mysterious all the way through.
How do you think your prior experiences in writing have helped you with putting this book forth? If you had a choice, is there anything that you would do differently than what you have with ‘Anna O?’
I worked for ten years in politics and speechwriting which I think helped with grabbing a reader’s attention and writing short chapters that always keep up the pace and action and suspense. Anna O took four years from the first idea to the final book so I’m proud of the end result and all the work that went into it.
Lastly, before we conclude, what is next for you in line?
Book two is already written and going through the editorial process. Hopefully, it will be out in India in 2025! This time it is all about false memory and how many of our most treasured memories didn’t actually happen in the way we remember them.
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