Cathi Hanauer's "Gone"

Cathi Hanauer is the author of the novels My Sister’s Bones and Sweet Ruin and the editor of the New York Times bestselling essay anthology The Bitch in the House: 26 Women Tell the Truth About Sex, Solitude, Work, Motherhood, and Marriage. Her articles, essays, and/or criticism have appeared in the New York Times, Elle, O, The Oprah Magazine, Glamour, Self, Parenting, Whole Living, and other magazines. She lives with her family in western Massachusetts.

Here she shares some ideas for casting the leads in an adaptation of her new novel, Gone:

I love Michelle Pfeiffer as an actress--she's so incredibly talented, and she's smart and sultry in almost every role--and she's about the right age to play the leads in my books, but especially in Gone, my new one. That said, someone like Reese Witherspoon or Michelle Williams--someone shorter, curvier, perkier--would be more true to my description of Eve, the main character, at least in terms of looks and personality. (Though I'd still pick Pfeiffer in the end, I think.)

For the male lead--hmm, that's hard. I love Jeff Bridges (especially with Pfeiffer--hello The Fabulous Baker Boys?), but not sure he could pass for 46 anymore, which is how old the other main character in Gone, Eric, is. But if he got in shape, that could work; Eric is a sculptor, very quiet, slightly tortured… I think Bridges could pull that off. If not, Liam Neeson. Yes. He could be perfect.

Learn more about the book and author at Cathi Hanauer's website.

--Marshal Zeringue