Interview with Joshua Chaplinsky, author of The Paradox Twins

Today it gives the Speculative Fiction Showcase great pleasure to interview Joshua Chaplinsky, author of The Paradox Twins.

Your press release says The Paradox Twins is “a copyright infringing biographical collage that exists on the Internet, pieced together by an unknown auteur.” Who is the unknown auteur?

I can’t tell you that! That’s the mystery of the whole thing! But according to his bio, he is “…the Webmaster of unravelingtheparadox.com. He is a college dropout who self-identifies as an artist—as opposed to an author—that paints with the words of others.” Sounds pretty pretentious, if you ask me.

Who are or were the twins, and the Langley family? 

The twins are the offspring of prominent Boston physicist, Paul Langley, and his wife Florence. There’s Max Langley, renowned author of the bestselling Anthropica book series for young adults; and Albert Langley, local high school science teacher.

What is “the famous thought experiment”?

The Twins Paradox is a thought experiment in special relativity in which one identical twin takes a trip in a rocket while the other remains on Earth. The paradox is that each will view the other as having aged less. A pretty potent metaphor for sibling rivalry.

The novel is available for pre-order, to be released from Clash Books in April 2021. How does the novel relate to the website https://www.unravelingtheparadox.com/ and the webmaster?

The novel and the website are technically one and the same, as are the webmaster and the author. In reality it is a promotional blurring of lines.

As a collage made up from various unreliable sources and narrators, does it have any precedents in book or film format?

Oh, sure. Tons. Pale Fire by Nabokov, House of Leaves by Danielewski, the Bible. 

What if anything has the book got to say about the current era of “post-truth” and “alternative facts”?

Personal truth, say from a storytelling perspective, or interpretation of art, is subjective. Scientific facts, however, are not. But it seems a lot of people have trouble telling the two apart.

The Langley Twins are haunted by the past - and the future. To what extent is this a ghost story? 

To the extent that we are all “haunted” by our past, but also because Albert Langley’s dead father might be visiting him at night, unless it’s not his father, but a future version of his brother, which… I’m not sure which prospect is scarier. 

Your other published works include Whispers in the Ear of A Dreaming Ape, and Kanye West—Reanimator. How much does satire animate your writing? 

Depends on the project, but I’d say a fair amount. I feel The Paradox Twins is more sincere than satirical, at least from a social standpoint. I suppose it does lampoon family dynamics a bit. Personally I find satire works better in the short form. Personally as in my own writing. 

“The Paradox Twins is an experimental, sci-fi ghost story about the scariest, most unknowable quantity there is—family.” Tell us more.

I mean, that pretty much says it all. Family is one of the most important things in the world, yet every family is different. You know the old adage, “You can choose your friends…” There’s no predicting what you’re gonna get in the family lottery, and that’s scary—from the perspective of a child or a parent. Nobody wants to spend all that time and money raising a kid that turns out to be a total jerk!

Has your own life or your family history fed into the story? 

Definitely. It feeds into every story, just not always in the most obvious of ways. People looking for clues to “who I am” in The Paradox Twins will find themselves mislead by red herrings of their own making. 

You are the managing editor of LitReactor.com and also appear on Twitter as @jaceycockrobin. What do you feel about the messy world of the internet where social media has changed the meaning of, er, meaning beyond recognition?

Like anything, the internet and social media has its pros and cons. Every new development does. Every advancement throughout the ages has been heralded as both a miracle and a curse. Ultimately I think it’s more about the people behind the changes, and how they implement and utilize them, that makes the mess.

Will there be more books?

If people buy this one! Otherwise, there might only be more manuscripts that sit on my computer gathering digital dust.

How have the last few years blurred the difference between fiction and reality and what does that mean for writers?

It’s made it harder to shock, to stretch credulity, to be satirical, because real life has become so bizarre. Truth has always been stranger than fiction, but as of late “truth” has become a parody of itself. People read books to escape that shit. Pretty soon all books will be about normal people doing mundane things.

According to the webmaster: “I do not claim ownership of copyright over any of the materials reproduced within. This site is presented for “edutainment” purposes only (because why should you pay when it comes from the heart?). Also, I feel it falls under the umbrella of fair use as a derivative work.” How does this disclaimer relate to other famous prefaces like the one to Gulliver’s Travels? 

You know, I’ve never read Gulliver’s Travels, so I’m not sure! Does Milo Manara’s Gullivera count?

Why should they pay when it comes from the heart?

That’s a good question! It’s a catch-22. Too many writers are concerned with climbing the charts, as it were.

Who was Donald Barthelme and what was so important about collages? 

Barthelme was a writer known for his unconventional short stories, which often read more like a collection of descriptions and events than an actual narrative. What was so important about collage? You’d have to ask him, but you can’t—he’s dead! Did you see his obituary?

Amazon | CLASH Books pre-order link

About Joshua Chaplinsky:

Joshua Chaplinsky is the Managing Editor of LitReactor.com. He is the author of The Paradox Twins, Whispers in the Ear of A Dreaming Ape, and Kanye West—Reanimator. His short fiction has been published by Vice, Vol. 1 Brooklyn, Thuglit, Severed Press, Shotgun Honey, Broken River Books, and more. Follow him on Twitter at @jaceycockrobin. More info at joshuachaplinsky.com.

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