The Nueva School - First Literary Lunch a Huge Success

First Literary Lunch a Huge Success

by Elisabeth Ostrow

Best-selling author Katherine Neville spoke on Monday, November 10, at Nueva’s first-ever luncheon in the library.

More than 70 guests, including Nueva parents, prospective parents, staff, faculty, alums, and friends from the community came together for an elegant lunch and an opportunity to hear Ms. Neville talk. With her new novel, The Fire, sitting on the New York Times Best Seller list, Ms. Neville is much in demand on her extensive book tour. We were lucky to have her at Nueva.	Ms. Neville is a born storyteller, and her Nueva talk was filled with amusing anecdotes. She described how she found her first agent by dropping a few chapters of her novel with his doorman, and then benefiting from the fact that the agent came home from work with the flu, wanting something amusing to read. And she recalled what one publisher said when rejecting the manuscript of The Eight, a book which was eventually published in thirty-five languages: “We just don’t know what kind of person would read this kind of book!”
Critics and reviewers have had a hard time categorizing Ms. Neville’s books. Part science-fiction, part thriller, part intrigue-filled puzzlers, her books defy easy classification. But Ms. Neville herself explained the genre they best fit: the quest novel. As she explained, she has always been interested in writing swashbuckling adventures, and these stories spring into her mind almost fully-formed. Her unfinished novels may sit in her drawer for years on end as she waits for them to be ready to come to fruition. When the time is right, she said, it is almost as though her research materials fall open to the right page.	But Ms. Neville’s comments were not all lighthearted and entertaining. After taking questions from the audience, she ended her talk on a serious note, as she discussed the effect of the economic crisis on the charitable causes about which she cares deeply. She explained that she is donating the proceeds from the first edition of The Fire to several of her favorite causes, and implored the luncheon guests to resist the impulse to decrease their own charitable giving when their finances are stretched. Quoting the Bible, Ms. Neville expounded her philosophy that your good deeds will come back to you: “Cast your bread on the waters, for you shall find it after many days.” It was, perhaps, an unexpectedly serious note on which to end a celebratory luncheon, but a very moving one. After the event, many attendees purchased Ms. Neville’s books, which she signed, ensuring that -- at least on that day -- she would be able to continue her charitable giving, and Nueva would be a part of her efforts.
Ironically, despite Ms. Neville’s extensive experience in the computer industry (before becoming a full-time writer, she held a prominent position at Bank of America overseeing computer security issues), she believes in old-fashioned research, and steers away from Google. She prefers to pore over books on history and chess, or to consult with experts who are passionate about their chosen fields and who, after reading her work, can steer her in the right direction. What became clear while listening to Ms. Neville speak is that whether she is interviewing a chess prodigy, a U.S. Treasury official, or a former president of Czechoslovakia, her mind is always racing, making connections, and finding ways to incorporate arcane facts and interesting tidbits into her work.	Many members of the Nueva community worked together to organize this inaugural luncheon. Among them were Marilyn Kimura, Nueva’s longtime librarian, who dreamed up the event as a companion to Book Fair week -- an opportunity for the adults in and around our community to participate in an event tailored for them. Elisabeth Ostrow worked with Marilyn to secure a speaker for the event and to coordinate it; Sandra Clewans produced the beautiful online invitations and posters; and Sandra Clewans and Judy Wong labored over the menu and the look of the event, and worked closely with the caterer throughout.