Maxwell's House
- Tegan
- Jun 19, 2016
- 2 min read
Greetings! It’s been ages.
Something that not everybody knows is that I modeled Maxwell’s grandmother’s house after my own grandmother’s home. When I envisioned the world in which Maxwell lived and the dying city of Chicago, I saw a city much different than the Chicago of today. I saw a city that had spread much further than it’s original heart and that, as it had grown too much too quickly, it had left death, destruction, and waste in its path. My grandmother lived in a tiny house in an even tinier town (village, actually) about two hours from Chicago. Directly to the left of her house is a superchurch that is slowly beginning to consume more and more land and add more and more ridiculous, over-the-top facilities. I’m convinced that it will someday cover the entire village.
My grandmother and I have always been very close. Unfortunately, she now suffers from Alzheimer’s disease, so she has good and bad days, but her memory is awful and deteriorating quickly. I lived across the street from her (at my other grandmother’s house) during my first two years of college. Maxwell’s Gran is loosely based on my own. She’s got all her fiery spunk and compassionate nature. The church also served as inspiration. The only difference is that my grandmother loved the church. She volunteered loads of her time to helping it and the community and volunteering at the mission. She fell and broke her hip (years pre-Alzheimer’s diagnosis) and the next day, the pastor came to the hospital and asked for her house and various other donations. I’m not sure I’ve ever been so furious. So yes… the superchurch had its own (enormous) impact on the story.
Back to my main point, I visited home recently and snapped a few photos of the house. It looks a bit different now. It didn’t have a porch before, and there used to be a large garden to the left of it. Beyond the garden, there is a parking lot for the church, but behind the church there is (or was, I’m not sure anymore) a huge field that I used to play in as a child. This is the field were Gabriel landed in front of Aubrey and started everything. You will also see a photo of Maxwell’s garage and also the church.
Enjoy!
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