A Murray State assistant professor’s new work of science fiction reframes the question: What’s it like to see with someone else’s eyes?
T.J. Martinson, an assistant professor of English at MSU, recently published “Her New Eyes,” a novel about a woman who undergoes an experimental eye procedure that causes her to have visions of Marilyn Monroe and eventually leads to a struggle of wills between her and the late actress.
The book – Martinson’s followup novel to his debut, “The Reign of the Kingfisher” – explores Monroe's legacy and explores how he believes the Hollywood legend would interact with the modern world.
“It was fun, because imagining Marilyn Monroe having the opportunity to come back in this world that we occupy now.We say that someone like Marilyn Monroe is timeless, but the novel explores just how much of this world she really fits into,” he said.
Martinson said he had finished his book and was in the editing process when “Blonde – the controversial, and widely panned, Andrew Dominik film that dramatizes the life of the actress – was released. He said that, in the wake of the film’s debut, editors urged him to “recast” the book, and swap Monroe for another actress like Jayne Mansfield.
“Immediately thereafter, I was getting emails from different agents being like, ‘hey, we really like the book, but can you change the celebrity?’ he said. ““I was like, ‘Absolutely not. It doesn’t work if it's anybody else, it has to be Monroe.’”
Martinson will host a book launch party for “Her New Eyes” on Friday, June 6, at Wit’s End Records in Murray. The author is expected to do a short reading from his work beginning at 7 p.m. Copies of “Her New Eyes” and Martinson’s first novel will be available for purchase at the event.
