We chat with author Sanibel about To Have and Have More, which is told through the eyes of a Korean girl adopted into a wealthy white family and explores casual racism, privilege, and the complexities of friendship.
Hi, Sanibel! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
I’m an author (and former prep school kid) who writes about status anxiety and people who have almost everything, but still feel like they need more. I live in New York, I run a college essay consulting business, and I’m thrilled to be talking about my debut novel. Thanks for having me.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
At The Lawrenceville School (the boarding school I attended, which my book is loosely based on)—specifically, Dr. Cunningham’s class. We were assigned Virginia Woolf’s Orlando and the homework was to write a pastiche—it was the best challenge I had ever been served. I loved trying to recreate an effect to elicit a certain type of reaction with words (this is still my favorite thing about writing).
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: Li’L Miss Fuss Budget by Kate Allen
- The one that made you want to become an author: Look Homeward, Angel by Thomas Wolfe
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: Enemies of Promise by Cyril Connolly
Your debut novel, To Have and Have More, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Too much privilege is tragic.
What can readers expect?
The other side of the spoiled brat coin: rich kid misery. Also, unlikeable and irredeemable characters who you love to hate (shades of White Lotus, if I can be so bold).
Where did the inspiration for To Have and Have More come from?
My own boarding school experience certainly informed my book. Also, I have a college admissions essay consulting business and most of my clients are prep school students, who I’d also attribute a fair amount of inspiration to. It’s shocking (and saddening) to see how consistently these high-achieving, very bright, very privileged students are deeply unhappy. Their lives are so closely managed that they don’t have agency. They have every material advantage but no control of the important decisions that shape their lives.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
I enjoyed writing a mean girl main character who has minimal qualms with doing something “bad”, which translated to being liberated from the typical coming-of-age guiltily agonizing over a transgression trope. Emery Hooper does not agonize. She feels very justified in taking whatever she feels like. Her sense of entitlement has so much conviction—and that was fun to draw.
Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?
The biggest challenge was to resist feedback that urged me to make the book more reductive (villainize the rich kids, make the middle-class antagonist more heroic.) These notes missed the point of what I’m trying to say. I don’t think I was 100% successful in overcoming that pressure. With a first book you have no leverage and it’s a painful place to be in as an author. I especially hate calling my novel an “eat the rich” book. Hopefully, as my career progresses there will be less demand to reduce the themes to the lowest common denominator clickbait trash.
This is your debut novel! What was the road to becoming a published author like for you?
You know how the Greeks win the war and the hard part is allegedly over? And Odysseus sets sail, expecting smooth passage home—only to be tossed into years of chaos, setbacks, and trials that drain his mind/body/spirit? That’s what the road to publication feels like. Getting the book deal was “winning” the Trojan War. Everything after has been my Odyssey.
What’s next for you?
Another satire about class and privilege! DOES THIS MAKE ME LOOK RICH? is the title of my second book about a NYC editor who works at a tastemaking magazine that is known for setting trends and giving the final word on what’s cool. While DTMMLR overlaps with the themes of To Have and Have More (insofar as it explores class/wealth), it’s more about TASTE than privilege. What is considered “good taste”? Who tends to have it? How does status inform taste? Is it something you cultivate or something you’re born with?
Lastly, what books are you looking forward to picking up this year?
I’m reading Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon now (it’s excellent). Next up, I’m itching to start Danielle Prescod’s The Rules of Fortune.
