Keanu Reeves Says His First Novel Was Inspired by His Thoughts on Death and the ‘Power’ of ‘Love’.
“Why is death so strong and love so frail, and yet it’s the strongest force on the planet?” Reeves told ‘The New York Times’ ahead of his new book’s release
Keanu Reeves is pushing his creative boundaries with his debut novel The Book of Elsewhere.
The 59-year-old actor recently spoke to The New York Times about his new historical fantasy book, which he co-authored with China Miéville and is a spinoff of his comic-book series BRZRKR.
Speaking about the process of bringing the project to life and his inspiration, Reeves told the outlet, “It surprised me in the creative act, what gets revealed to oneself.”
“Maybe the creative act is a kind of talking, you know. And so maybe I have father issues and mother issues. And maybe I think about death,” he continued. “Maybe I don’t understand the violence of the world. I don’t understand that we all know we’re going to die, and we kill each other over things that are, perhaps as you look back at them, not so important.”
Reeves added, “Maybe I wonder about the world, you know, how did we get here, who are we.”
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Reeves is no stranger to death, having endured multiple tragedies in his life. River Phoenix, his best friend, died of a drug overdose in 1993 at age 23.
His late girlfriend Jennifer Syme, whom he met in 1998, later gave birth to their stillborn baby daughter, Ava. Reeves and Syme remained best friends until April 2001, when she died in a car crash at age 28 just one day after the pair had dined out together.
While Reeves didn’t name any specific tragedies and loves in his life that may have influenced BRZRKR or The Book of Elsewhere, he told the Times, “Maybe I wonder about love. And the power of it. Why is death so strong and love so frail, and yet it’s the strongest force on the planet?”
“So, I like to think about those things, and I thought maybe I found that they could come out in a comic book,” added the John Wick star.
Reeves announced his new book on Good Morning America in January, saying, “I’m very excited for the opportunity to announce that I’ve partnered with one of my favorite authors, China Miéville, on the novel The Book of Elsewhere.”
“The series tells the story of an immortal warrior’s fight through the ages, and I love the world of BRZRKR so much that I wanted to explore it further and I thought one of the best ways to do that is through a novel,” added the Matrix star.
In a press release shared with PEOPLE at the time, Reeves said that author Miéville, 51, “came in with a clear architecture for the story and how he wanted to play with the world of BRZRKR, a world that I love so much.”
“I was thrilled with his vision and feel honored to be a part of this collaborative process,” Reeves added.
