Author Kip Langton with his pup, Oscar Langton.

Movable Memories Behind Victorian Stillness: Kip Langton’s Sophomore Novel

By Kipp Jarecke-Cheng, Chief Communications Officer, Publicis Health

--

Native New Yorker and author Kip Langton is seemingly preoccupied with very big buildings. In his debut novel, Hell of Hosanna, New York’s iconic Empire State Building is dismantled, then rebuilt brick-by-brick on a private island owned by an elusive businessman with world domination in mind. In his newest novel, Victorian Stillness, a sprawling but decaying Victorian farmhouse in Upstate New York serves as an emblem for the breakdown of a once-close knit community and its previously unspoken social contract to support each other and tend to collective rather than individual needs.

While Kip’s day job as an advertising creative means he typically writes with the kind of just-the-facts clarity required to pass legal and regulatory muster, his creative writing endeavors often leave plenty of room for ambiguity, mystery, and doubt. Whether it’s the absurdist sci-fi world of Hell of Hosanna or the slyly supernatural vibes of Victorian Stillness, Kip’s unique literary voice and ability to transport readers to unexpected places has made him a compelling new writer to watch.

It’s been nearly two years since our last Kip-to-Kipp Konversation, when we talked about Kip’s debut novel, Hell of Hosanna, a quirky sci-fi fantasy that was unnervingly grounded in reality. On the eve of the release of Victorian Stillness, Kip and I reconnected to talk about the story behind his latest novel, the challenges of generational property ownership, and the impact COVID has had on community identity and a shared sense of responsibility.

Kipp Jarecke-Cheng: You’ve packed a lot of big ideas into your new book. The outline of the story may be about generational property ownership, but there are definitely larger themes about community, accountability, and family legacies at play in Victorian Stillness. What inspired the story?

Kip Langton: Well, it’s loosely inspired by a true story, about a real property that was unable to transition with the modern landscape. Almost like a snow globe effect. Kind of a microcosmic type of thing. The idea of maintaining a 500-acre property with the tensions of modern life is impossible. A losing battle. And that’s what this book is about. Seeing a property you had in the family since 1808 slowly fall away from you — and there’s nothing you can do about it. You just have to watch.

KJC: All writers put a little bit of themselves into their work. What was it like to balance the real-life version of the story versus the fictionalized version?

KL: I think it was Hemingway who said that fiction should be truer than the reality itself. That’s exactly what I tried to do with this book. The reflection in the mirror, even though highly exaggerated, is the solidified truth, while the object itself is purely observational and almost fleeting. This is 100% fiction and the truth wouldn’t come out if I made it a memoir. You have to have a really bad life or a life of extremes to make a memoir work — and most people’s stories aren’t like that. That’s why when memoirs are good, they’re really good.

KJC: Why do you think our society has become increasingly disconnected from each other? Is there a remedy for our societal disconnection and isolation?

KL: It’s easy to be a writer because you can show a problem without having to fix it. But you do have to have some positive insight — otherwise writing just functions as therapy, which is not the point of writing … that’s journaling and that’s totally fine if you keep it to yourself. I guess what I’m trying to say is self-worth really comes from seeing the worth of the things around you. There’s a connection to the land that’s been lost in modern times. Yes, we follow trends now that, say, will save the planet. But there was a hands-in-the-soil tactility that truly doesn’t exist anymore. Starting a microbrewery in Upstate New York at $20 a beer doesn’t count. I’m talking real connection. Real farming. Real values in work and owning what you do, whether it’s in a vacuum or not. People back then could live in a vacuum. They didn’t need an audience. Because they were never performing an act of great morality. They were doing what they love to do, and it resulted in positive outcome for both the environment and industry. Nothing had to result in a great tagline.

KJC: Did the global pandemic trigger your reflections on big societal issues like shared responsibility and shared accountability? Or were those themes that were always on your mind?

KL: The pandemic was the fuel in the engine. The themes I discuss in this book couldn’t exist without a pandemic to accelerate it. You know, I’ve realized … an American generationally propelled property is destroyed by three things: First, environmental ornamentation — meaning all things around you are props on a stage set built for you and only you, for your experience and pleasure. Second, the intertwining of self-preservation and morality. They both become one in the same and you’re your own rule book for what’s right and wrong. Third, end of world syndrome — meaning there’s no such thing as generational responsibility because that would mean life goes on without you, which is something you cannot accept. Therefore, characters with end of world syndrome think total world destruction will happen when they’re alive and this allows them to make mistakes without acknowledging the consequences — it’s the highest form of vanity … but it makes for great characters in a book!

KJC: What do you hope readers take away from Victorian Stillness?

KL: The ability to become bigger than yourself. If people feel a little closer to the core of who they are at the end of this book, I think that means they’ve read it right and I’ve done my job right.

Victorian Stillness is available on Amazon.

Kip Langton is widely recognized for his creative achievements as a novelist and an advertising creative. His success as a novelist includes Hell of Hosanna, which quickly became Amazon’s number one new release in absurdist fiction when it debuted in 2022. As for advertising, Kip has won or been shortlisted for more than 40 advertising creative awards, including the Cannes Lion for Innovation, New York Festivals, Fast Company’s Innovation by Design, London International Awards, W3 Award, Clio Award, The Shorty Social Good Award, Epica Award, and Communication Arts Award of Excellence. He is a versatile writer who works across genres and has held a variety of creative positions for some of the most famous agencies in the world. Kip lives in New York City.

Check out Kip Langton’s second novel, Victorian Stillness, available for purchase on Amazon.

--

--

Publicis Health

Publicis Health is the largest healthcare communications network in the world. We are a part of Publicis Groupe S.A.