Beginner’s Pluck: Roppotucha Greenberg on her debut novella
Roppotucha Greenberg Author of 'Getting By in Tligolian'
Beginner’s Pluck. Roppotucha Greenberg.
As a child Roppotucha was a precocious reader.
“One of my favourite books was , though I can’t have understood it.”
Born in Russia, Roppotucha lived in Israel, until she travelled to Ireland, met her now ex-husband, and stayed for 18 months, before returning to Israel to complete her degree.
“Then I came back to Ireland to study,” she says.
After a second degree and PhD, Roppotucha did a Postdoc to convert her thesis into a book, and to teach at the University of Galway.
She is the author of a flash and micro-fiction collection, , and has published four, ‘silly but wise doodle books for adults’.
“My ‘creature’ books started as nonsense doodles and interactions on Twitter. They helped me with focus and empathy.”
Roppotucha wrote an unpublished novel back in 2010, and tried a second, but hit a snag.
“Then I learned about flash fiction and minimalist writing. The ideas for the novella, stemmed from there.”
1978/ St Petersburg, Soviet Union.
Secondary school in Jerusalem; Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Trinity College Dublin, Anglo-Irish Literature; University of Galway, PhD in English.
Galway.
Children aged 17 and 7.
Part-time lecturer at the School of English and Creative Arts, and manager of the Academic Writing Centre at the University of Galway University.
“I like languages a lot, and would love to teach or mentor language, or teaching approaches.”
Haruki Murakami; David Grossman; Henrik Ibsen; James Joyce; Arundhati Roy; Ludmilla Petrushevskaya; Vladimir Nabokov.
“I’m working on another novella.”
“Trust your habits and skills, and write the story that wants to be told, though it might dictate the rhythm.”
@roppotucha
; Arachne Press, €11.45/ Kindle, €5.73
Jennifer falls for Sam the day she attends his execution. Living in a dictator-run city, it’s a while before she realises that she can time travel and visit her past and her future, by taking trains that loop the city. This enables her to find Sam, and to live with him.
This intriguing experimental novella held my interest throughout.
