New Book Spotlight

The Iron Garden Sutra

A mini-interview with A. D. Sui

Tell us about your new book?
The Iron Garden Sutra is my debut novel, and it’s now out with Erewhon Books!

It follows Iris, a monk whose role it is to tend to those dying and those dead, which suits him just fine because he’s not the most sociable fella. When a generation ship emerges from deep space, Iris is sent aboard to lay everyone’s soul to rest (most generation ships end up only carrying corpses since more things go wrong than right in space travel and everyone dies). What he expects to be a wonderful time away from the noise of the temple turns into a nightmare when he discovers that a group of very chatty and enthusiastic academics were also sent to explore the ship for its archeological significance.
And then things really start getting bad.

What aspect of the book was the most fun to write?
I apologize, but I’m going to say decomposing organic matter.

It is fascinating how quickly the decomposition process begins and how it progresses! I spent a good amount of time researching corpse farms which are these outdoor research facilities where cadavers are left to decompose in the natural environment (and sometimes with some intervention) to observe how the tissue behaves under different conditions. This is all very grim, but super useful for law enforcement so that they can tell how long a body has been out in the elements based on how it’s looking upon discovery or perhaps what was done to a body prior to being left out in the elements.

Grimness aside, it was fun to try and write these scenes where Iris is discussing decomposition and decay in a matter that would be appropriate for him. That is, in a very detached and professional way. I’m a naturally squeamish person. I can’t stand the sight of blood or the texture of flesh. I absolutely hate it! But writing through these scenes from Iris’s perspective really gave me a different way of seeing things. Organic matter is organic matter. There is nothing different between a decomposing apple to a decomposing squirrel. This became a very peaceful idea to me over time. Everything returns to the earth. Everything is the same. Decay is just a natural part of life—its final stage.

And that’s my totally normal answer.

If there is one emotion or theme that you would hope that the reader connects with, what would that be?
That’s a tricky one!

In many ways, I wrote The Iron Garden Sutra for myself because I was trying to process a lot of overwhelm and grief at the time of drafting. I think a lot of people will connect with that aspect of the book. I also can’t tell if everyone will. From the very beginning I was hoping for this book to be an experience. I tried my best to avoid telling the reader how to feel, only to present the story from a specific point of view and let them decide what to do with that in the end. If someone really connects with Iris, that’s great. If they don’t, that’s great too! This isn’t a clear-cut genre book. There’s some sci-fi, there’s some horror, there’s some mystery (so I am told). It’s a little funny at times, and kind of cozy, and utterly horrific and depressing in other instances. There’s really no telling which aspect will resonate with readers!

Ideally, I hope people will want to pick up the sequel!