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May 4, 2021
Gian Sardar's Playlist for Her Novel "Take What You Can Carry"
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.
Gian Sardar's novel Take What You Can Carry tells a poignant story of family and war.
Kirkus wrote of the book:
"This is an unforgettable story about war and family, responsibility and love, but Sardar also pays tribute to the priceless connections we forge at the most terrible moments…A heartbreaking story about war, family, and love."
In her words, here is Gian Sardar's Book Notes music playlist for her novel Take What You Can Carry:
Writing a book means being haunted by it. If I’m ordering wine, there’s my character, hovering off to the side, forcing me to say okay okay, do you want red or white? Choosing perfume is no different, with my selection perhaps eliciting the claim that gardenia is just wrong. And music - I think of my book and wonder if whatever song I’m listening to would get turned up, or turned off. But for me, music is more than just items on a like/dislike list, but backdrops for scenes I’m writing or characters I’m trying to figure out. Often, I’ll have a song on repeat only to realize that low and behold, the lyrics fit perfectly with a moment I’m working on, and the more I listen to it the more I begin to direct the movie version in my head, and hone in on the elements I should play up - or realize what should be abandoned, since they didn’t make the cut.
Take What You Can Carry is the story of an American, Olivia Murray, who accompanies her boyfriend, Delan, to his home in Kurdistan of Iraq. When there, she’s confronted with a reality she’d never imagined, one that changes her forever. Since the year is 1979, music from the time period helped set the mood in certain scenes, but this list also includes those songs that helped me envision specific moments in my book, regardless of the year.
1) “Celebrate" by Dirty Heads
My character, Delan, is an actor who’s found success in America. There’s a certain amount of guilt he carries for being the only one in his family to have left Kurdistan, and all he’s missed with his parents weighs on him. From the moment I heard the first line in this song, Delan’s voice took over.
2) “Monsters” by Seafret
Without giving too much away, I’ll say there’s a moment in the novel after something terrible has happened, when the family’s gathered together in one room. Everyone but my main character is sleeping, and when I heard this song I saw this scene, and the lyrics captured the fear and disbelief Olivia would feel. Also, it’s just a great song.
3) “Hotel California” by the Eagles.
While in Kurdistan, Olivia gets a taste of the trauma that Delan experienced growing up, and with this comes insight into some of his past behavior. At one point, after a particularly devastating event, she remembers a night in Los Angeles when Delan dealt with news of home by drinking too much and passing out during his own party. As he sleeps, this song is mentioned. Not only was it a time period appropriate song, but I saw the party-goers hearing their state mentioned and latching onto that fame, thrilled and proud of their home while Delan has essentially escapes his.
4) “My Sharona” by The Knack
Released in 1979, this song worked for scene setting, but also I just love it. That said, when I was listening to it my 10 year old grabbed my phone to read the lyrics…and let’s just say I had to act quickly, as they’re definitely not kid appropriate. Whoops.
5) “Runnin' With the Devil” by Van Halen
This was one of my scene setting songs, and to find it I actually enlisted the help of my Facebook friends with a post that said, “I need a recognizable song that could be played early June of 1979, that a skeezy youngish dude in a gold colored Firebird would be playing as he checks out the ladies.” The suggestions were amazing, but this song won.
6) “The Wanton Song” by Led Zeppelin
I needed a song that would’ve been played at one of their parties, too loudly. This one fit the bill, and gets a reference.
7) “I’ll Be There” by Jess Glynne
This one made me think of the little girl in my book, and the love Olivia has for her, and became a song I associated with the end of the book. Strangely, I never heard the song outside of my iTunes playlist, until the day I boarded my Emirates flight to go to Kurdistan for a research trip. As I took my seat, still hoping my book would make it out into the world, they played this song. I took it as a sign. 😁
Gian Sardar was born in Los Angeles, California. Her father is from Kurdistan of Iraq, and her mother is from Minnesota. She studied creative writing at Loyola Marymount University, is the author of the novel You Were Here, and is the coauthor of the memoir Psychic Junkie. Gian’s work has appeared in the New York Times and Confrontation Magazine and on Salon.com, among other places. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, son, and insane dog, and she enjoys gardening, cooking, and other forms of procrastination. For more information, visit www.giansardar.com.
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