Write What You Know?
Knowing that Tori drew upon her own experience to carve both the plotline and the characters within it, I’m interested to discuss the likeness between Tori and protagonist Calli. Is “The Immortals” a novel, or a memoir? Tori insists that, despite their obvious similarities, Calli is “about fifty percent” a reflection of her creator. Like Tori, Calli’s husband provides insight to filmmakers on a film about a battle he experienced during war. Tori’s husband, First Sgt. Matt Eversmann, story was immortalized in the epic film, Black Hawk Down, in which he was portrayed by Josh Hartnett. She laughs and notes her friends’ reactions to certain scenes, admitting, “My concern is that people confuse Calli and Tori!”
The novel is a veritable hall of mirrors: full of reflections upon reality, but all distorted to some extent. Tori gives me a string of examples from “The Immortals” where she deliberately chose to deviate from her own life and actions. Calli was never going to be a cookie cutter copy of Tori; she notes that it was a very conscious decision to “divorce” herself from Calli and instead to “play up Calli’s ignorance and naiveté,” for the sake of the plotline, pointing to “seismic shift” that Calli’s character takes.
The personal journey that Calli takes is one of the main themes of the novel, one that transcends the military element and will engage every reader. As we meet Calli, it’s impossible not to notice her peculiar priorities, including her disdain of other women that teeters precariously on snobbery. By the end of the novel she has taken a three-sixty: she is more humble, more considerate and a warmer character altogether. Tori remarks that Calli’s experiences ultimately make her a “stronger, more compassionate” woman, but this is almost an understatement; it’s a dramatic change, a positive change, and — the real success — a thoroughly believable change.
It is clear, though, that both protagonist and author are linked by their creative spirits. But while Calli and Tori both find solace in the creative process, Calli’s musical background — a rigorous Juilliard education, dreams of playing in world-class orchestras — is entirely fictional. “I cannot play an instrument to save my life!” Tori chuckles.
The relationship between Calli and her husband is another major way that Tori knits her experience into the novel, whilst also fabricating parts for the sake of the plotline. Tori chuckles when I linger on this point, admitting, “it might have been a very ‘vanilla’ book otherwise!” It’s obvious that the real-life Eversmann marriage is a strong and happy one; Tori adds how it strikes her that the past fifteen years have “flown by!” She remarks upon how lucky she feels with the sincerity and twinkle of a woman who never forgets to count her blessings.
It transpires that the dramatic peaks in Calli and Luke’s was fabricated for the sake of storytelling, adding an element of suspense and tension. Their problems are, of course, both caused and exacerbated by Luke’s deployment to Iraq. The deployment itself is based on reality; Matt Eversmann also deployed with the Army in 2006. It was a grueling time in Tori’s life, and is described on a deeply personal level in “The Immortals.” Recalling that year, Tori admits, “I wouldn’t wish that deployment on my worst enemy, but it’s the best thing that ever happened to me.”
