The Proust Questionnaire, with Kerry Kelly

Kerry Kelly's most recent novel is The Family Album (Dundurn), which follows one-time literary luminary Cynthia Wilkes as her career, life and family shift in unexpected ways.

In her answers to the Proust Questionnaire, Kerry tells Open Book about footwear temptations, her favourite Prime Minister and the best time for a cold beer.

The Proust Questionnaire was not invented by Marcel Proust, but it was a much loved game by the French author and many of his contemporaries. The idea behind the questionnaire is that the answers are supposed to reveal the respondent's "true" nature.

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What is your dream of happiness?
To be surrounded by people I love and respect.

What is your idea of misery?
To feel I do not control of my own actions.

What qualities do you admire most in a man?
Kindness, humour, an intolerance for injustice.

What qualities do you admire most in a woman?
Passion, confidence, a sense of adventure.

What is your chief characteristic?
A desire to find the good.

What is your principal fault?
Poor impulse control.

What is your greatest extravagance?
I love Fluevogs.

What characteristic do you dislike most in others?
Cruelty.

What characteristic do you dislike most in yourself?
Carelessness.

What is your favourite colour?
Green.

What is your favourite bird?
I hate birds… in that I am terrified of birds.

What historical figure do you admire the most?
Pierre Elliot Trudeau.

Who are your favourite prose authors?
Roddy Doyle, Kurt Vonnegut, Banana Yoshimoto.

Who are your favourite heroes in fiction?
Anne Shirley, Alice.

What is your favourite drink?
A cold beer on a hot day… and any other of day.

What is it you most dislike?
The sensation of falling.

How do you want to die?
At peace.

What is your current state of mind?
Generally delighted.

What is your motto?
You’re no better than anyone else, but you are every damn bit as good.

Kerry Kelly is a native of North Bay, Ontario. She has been a full-time professional print and Web writer since 1998. Her byline has appeared in publications such as the Toronto Star, NOW, the Calgary Herald and the Sudbury Star. Her debut novel, The Year She Left, was published in 2008. She lives in Toronto.

For more information about The Family Album please visit the Dundurn website.

Buy this book at your local independent bookstore or online at Chapters/Indigo or Amazon.

Check out all the Proust Questionnaire interviews in our archives.