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February 24, 2021
Julia Fine's Playlist for Her Novel "The Upstairs House"
In the Book Notes series, authors create and discuss a music playlist that relates in some way to their recently published book.
Previous contributors include Jesmyn Ward, Lauren Groff, Bret Easton Ellis, Celeste Ng, T.C. Boyle, Dana Spiotta, Amy Bloom, Aimee Bender, Roxane Gay, and many others.
Smart, haunting, and inventive, Julia Fine's novel The Upstairs House is a marvelously unsettling exploration of being a new mother.
Booklist wrote of the book:
"In this inventive, visceral novel, Fine creates a dark fairy tale about a woman whose career plans are sidelined by pregnancy and the birth of her daughter.... Fine depicts the devastation of postpartum depression, all too often shrouded in shame and blame, and offers hope."
In her words, here is Julia Fine's Book Notes music playlist for her novel The Upstairs House:
I listened to music constantly while working on my first novel (What Should Be Wild), but I wrote The Upstairs House during my son’s naptime, and I savored the quiet. The following are songs that inspired me while away from the page.
Neko Case, “I Wish I Was the Moon”
Who among us hasn’t been up with a newborn and whispered, “I’m so tired”? If you’re simultaneously mid-dissertation on Margaret Wise Brown, of course you follow with “I wish I was the moon tonight.” This is a song about exhaustion and loneliness and no longer recognizing yourself—it’s the perfect The Upstairs House anthem.
Rudy Vallee, “You’re Driving Me Crazy”
I listened to a lot of Rudy Vallee while getting to know the 1930s/40s characters—particularly Michael Strange. He’s the sort of artist Michael might have had playing during one of her Upper East Side soirees—socialites drinking champagne in the luxury penthouse and looking out over the East River, dancing drunkenly to his records. There’s also a scene in the book where the music Megan has been streaming switches inexplicably from rock and roll to Rudy Vallee—how fitting that it would be this particular song.
Phoebe Bridgers, “Killer”
Nobody does it like Phoebe. “I am sick of the chase/but I’m hungry for blood/and there’s nothing I can do,” and then in the second chorus, “I am sick of the chase/but I’m stupid in love/and there’s nothing I can do.” This is a song about desire and control, and I envision it as a love letter from Margaret to Michael, and from Megan to Clara.
Rockabye Baby!, “Gold Dust Woman”
Rockabye Baby! does a series of lullaby versions of basically any artist you can imagine—from Bruno Mars to The Beatles to Beyoncé to Metallica. I considered just making this track white noise, (a constant companion to any new parent), but these are much more fun. I’m not sure that Margaret Wise Brown and Stevie Nicks would get along, but I do think they’d be something of kindred spirits. Regardless, I love the Fleetwood Mac Rockabye Baby, I love the original “Gold Dust Woman,” and I appreciate the opportunity to rock out while my kids are asleep in the car.
Bob Dylan, “One of Us Must Know (Sooner or Later)”
“I couldn’t see/how you could know me/but you said you knew me and I believed you did.” This lyric perfectly encapsulates Megan’s relationship with her husband, Ben—her struggle to communicate, the tragedy of inertia, his confidence in the stability of their marriage. I’m always here for a good upbeat, messy breakup song, and I see this one as an examination of the lies we tell each other, and ourselves, during dispassionate relationships.
Billie Holiday, “There is No Greater Love”
Lyrically, this song is quite simple, but Billie Holiday’s version adds complexity that I don’t necessarily hear in other recordings. There’s something almost menacing here—the fear of losing love sits right alongside having and enjoying it, which is a key theme in The Upstairs House. This song could be sung as a purely celebratory love story, but instead becomes a multi-layered examination of what it means to be vulnerable in a relationship.
Frederic Chopin, “Op. 28: No. 15 in D-Flat Major, Raindrop”
Toward the end of her career, Michael Strange did a regular radio program during which she’d recite famous poems over classical music. Poe’s "The Raven" was paired with Chopin’s Raindrop Prelude, and honestly this combination says so much about Michael. She felt things deeply and dramatically, she loved an ostentatious display (particularly when she could insert herself front and center), and she didn’t necessarily have deep wells of original artistic insight. Chopin is, however, a lovely accompaniment to writing ghost stories.
Lucius, “Two of Us On the Run”
This song builds very slowly, which I think makes it a good fit for Megan’s experience in The Upstairs House. Of course, the title is also quite fitting for the latter third of the book, when Megan sets out to excise her ghosts. It’s melancholy and hopeful and, as always with Lucius, the harmonies are absolutely perfect.
Malvina Reynolds, “Turn Around”
I dare you (a parent) to listen to even the first few notes of this song without crying. As frustrating and mind-numbing and exhausting as it is to have a newborn, the time passes, the babies grow, the generational cycles continue. My mother used to sing this to me when I was small, and now I sing it to my daughter. Listen while reading The Upstairs House epilogue.
Julia Fine is a graduate of Columbia College Chicago’s MFA program. She teaches writing in Chicago, where she lives with her husband and son.
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