M.J. Rose

Welcome to the Reincarnationist Blog’s series of interviews using the infamous Proust Questionnaire. Today’s subject is Joshua Henkin…

THE QUESTIONS:

Title of your latest book as of Sept 1, 2007: Matrimony (pub date:

October 2, 2007)

Do you believe — even a little bit that reincarnation is possible?

I kind of believe anything is possible (just about) and as someone

who was raised in an observant Jewish home (I attended Jewish day

school from kindergarten through 12th grade and went to an Orthodox

synagogue and a Conservative summer camp), I’m certainly suggestible

when it comes to the supernatural. That said, in a list of my own

supernatural beliefs, reincarnation isn’t at the top.

Have you ever read anything books the subject that made an impression

on you?

Most of my reading about reincarnation came when I was nine or ten at

the supermarket checkout line, where the tabloids promised that there

was irrefutable evidence to support reincarnation. I have to say, I

was terrified. I was convinced that I would end up as a cow or a

cockroach. Worse, I believed this would mean I would be separated

from my family, who I understood would not also be cows or

cockroaches, and at that point in my life the idea of separation from

my family, though probably subconsciously very appealing, was,

consciously, terrifying.

What is your most marked characteristic that you believe could be a

hold over from a past life?

The kind word for it would be perseverance. Those less kindly

inclined would call it stubbornness or pigheadedness. I can’t imagine

not having been this way for lifetimes.

What is your principle defect that you believe might be inherited

from a previous incarnation?

See above question.

Which of your favorite heroes do you think you actually could have

been and why?

I don’t know if they’re heroes, but whoever was a previous era’s

version of Oprah, that would have been me. A novelist has to be

interested in people, which is just an elevated way of saying that

we’re all big gossips. I can listen endlessly to strangers talk to

each other. I’ll miss my subway stop sometimes, and it’s not even

that the conversation is so interesting–I just can’t help myself.

I’ve been known to flip through strangers’ yearbooks. Most people

don’t want to look at their *own* yearbooks, but not me…

What three people from history would you like to have over to dinner

for a discussion about reincarnation?

If it’s going to be about reincarnation, why not the biggies? I’ll

have Moses, Jesus, and Mohammad over for dinner. Potluck.

What do you think happens when we die?

I have no idea, but a combination of childhood teachings and hope die

hard. In short, I hope when I die I go somewhere, and I hope it’s

somewhere good.

When you come back next time, who would you like to be?

Probably my three-year-old daughter. I’d like to know what it’s like

to be her–to hear all this befuddling talk from the adults around

her. I wonder what she makes of it.

We would love to hear your responses to these questions. Please feel free to copy and paste the Questionnaire with your answers into a Comment for this post.

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