Ian Chorão

Ian Chorão is a writer and psychotherapist in private practice in Brooklyn, New York. He lives with his wife, who is a filmmaker and professor; they have two children.

Chorão's new novel, When We Talk to the Dead, is his first book of horror.

Like his main character, Chorão appreciates that the space between feeling and creation, reality and imagination is often ambiguous at best.

Recently I asked the author about what he was reading. His reply:

I'm reading three books at the moment.

The Shining by Stephen King. I know, strange that I've never read it. Usually my experience is seeing a movie of a book I love, but this is the reverse--I know the movie by heart, so I have to actively push it out of my head, so I can read the actual book. What is really great about it is how down to earth the characters and tone of the story are. Planting the supernatural in a very naturalistic setting makes the impact of the horror so much more intense. And I love how much he enjoys giving space to the inner lives of all his characters.

John & Paul: A Love Story in Songs by Ian Leslie. Being a Beatle fanatic, I promised myself I wouldn't read another book about the Beatles, but this one is different. For the fully indoctrinated, there might not be new factual revelations, but this book is about the emotional psychology between these two men and how it was not just their talent but their relationship and their intense connection that forged the greatest catalog of popular songs. The love they had for one another was on par with a dizzying romantic love. And as happens with love, there were all the other emotions, hurt, anger, envy, but always, always returning to a commitment and companionship and trust that worked like a fortress, protecting and bringing out each others' best parts.

The Unfolding by A.M. Homes. Like reading The Plague during Covid, reading Home's book, which follows the intense negative backlash to Obama's win, and watching like a fly on the wall, how that anger and fear organizes the right, might seem like a hard pill in these times. But actually it has the opposite effect. She nestles the macro planning of the powerful men looking to yank back the power they feel is theirs inside a family drama, where even the most powerful are shown to be painfully mortal. And how she writes dialogue, fast, economical, sharp, and her humor, and her delight in the dark absurd venture that is being a human, it just leaves you breathless.

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--Marshal Zeringue