
Sarah Jacobson is a young, ambitious reporter who appears to have the media world at her feet. Her hard-hitting and revealing interviews have gotten her noticed and promoted at a much younger age than most. In, The Interview, by Donna E. Lane, she is requested to be the interviewer by a reclusive, powerful and rich business tycoon, who NEVER gives interviews. She realises this is her opportunity to catapult her career into the stratosphere. Sarah, though, has spent her life running from her horrific childhood and the abuses she suffered as a little girl, at the hands of her mentally ill father. What she doesn’t know is that the interview with the unknown mogul will bring this pain straight to the surface. How can she cope?
What I particularly liked about The Interview was that Lane used the story to explore the concepts of good versus evil, of power and control versus freedom of choice. Although this is nominally a “Christian” story, I didn’t find that element to be at all intrusive. I would call it inspirational rather than Christian. What Lane so skilfully did was use the narrative to allow us, the readers, to question ourselves about trauma, forgiveness and the purpose of self. Yes, both the interview subject and the character representing good, in the story, were extreme caricatures of real people, but that allowed the author to present both arguments of the same story, which was excellent. My biggest take and perhaps the most eerily scary of all, was the almost direct comparison between the attitudes and beliefs of the interview subjects and some of today’s political leaders. I’m not sure if this was the author’s intent, but I could easily picture a certain President being the interview subject. I also enjoyed the way the author split the prose between first person (for the interview) and third person (for the background on Sarah). This was clever and always maintained good perspective as a reader. An excellent read and Lane should be congratulated for The Interview.
