Curt A. Canfield Explores Humanity, History, and Redemption Through Literary Fiction

Photo: Curt A. Canfield: Acclaimed author and former Marine, whose “Will Barnes” trilogy explores morality, history, and humanity with raw honesty.

The Stories That Invite Us To Question Our Beliefs

Curt A. Canfield discusses his award-winning “Will Barnes” trilogy, sharing insights on challenging historical biases, exploring trauma, and weaving history, philosophy, and redemption into thought-provoking literary fiction.

I n a literary landscape often dominated by themes of escapism, Curt A. Canfield stands out as a bold voice inviting readers to grapple with the profound complexities of history, morality, and human resilience. With a life journey that spans small-town America, the crucible of the Vietnam War, a decorated corporate career, and now an award-winning venture into historical fiction, Canfield’s path is as layered and thought-provoking as the narratives he crafts.

In this exclusive interview, Canfield delves into the inspirations and rigorous research behind his acclaimed “Will Barnes” trilogy. From unearthing hard truths about wartime propaganda to authentically channeling the voices of historical survivors, he reveals the painstaking efforts he undertook to challenge preconceived notions and illuminate shared humanity. Whether weaving theological debates or unraveling personal traumas, Canfield’s works confront readers with questions that resonate far beyond the page, offering a masterclass in the art of blending history, philosophy, and redemption. It’s a conversation that, much like his novels, is sure to challenge, inspire, and linger in the mind.

In The Errors of Mankind, Will encounters Johann, a German WWII veteran. How did you craft their theological and moral dialogues to challenge readers’ preconceived notions about wartime morality?

Crafting Will’s part of the dialogues was easy; he voiced my feelings as I wrote the book. My preconceived notions broke down as I researched everything that Johann expressed, which was all the typical propaganda for and against Nazi Germany. My preconceived notions about Nazi Germany broke down as I researched 1930 and 1940 period literature, music, newsreels, and speeches, which is why retired German General Major Gerd Scholtze-Rhonhof said “You have described the reality of German thinking … between 1914 and 1948 …  “

My preconceived notions about the US broke down after I researched what was happening in the US during that time, both domestically and against Germany as an economic threat.

All during my writing, my thoughts were focused on the commonality of their humanity. Nazi Germany’s faults were often exaggerated in mainstream history while the US faults were either underplayed or understated. I had to separate fact from fiction for both countries to show that all humanity is the same. This was my goal.

The sequel, Better is the End, shifts to exploring AA as a healing path. How did you research integrating recovery program principles into Will’s personal journey?

After finding peace with Johann, Will was still struggling with controlling his anger. Whenever he was confronted with injustice or rudeness, he became angry and incited the same with others. He knew he needed help. I envisioned him reaching for the Bible to find solace and it struck me that he was like an alcoholic doing the same reaching for a bottler. From there, it was easy to research what AA is all about and determine if there was a fit to the story.

Both novels confront heavy historical themes. How did your Vietnam Marine background influence your depiction of trauma and redemption in Will’s character arc?

Well, the Vietnam war was the end-all and be-all for me, and thus, for Will.  It turned my belief system on its head from so many different perspectives: our government, my religion, and humanity itself. However, like Will, I was too young to understand why it happened and struggled for years to resolve the conflicts within myself. It took Johann (my research) to see how those changes happened. I had to explore my history from many different vantage points, both personal and the world I grew up in. I soon found that most of those changes affecting me came from changes in the world, from global economics, politics, technology, and the ever-evolving development of humanity.

Lena, an Auschwitz survivor, plays a pivotal role. How did you approach writing her voice authentically while balancing historical accuracy and fictional narrative?

She is a pivotal character – and I initially didn’t include her. One of my Beta-Readers felt I ought to have a Jewish female. The book was too “male-centric.” And I agreed. I had to pore through many different interviews with Auschwitz survivors to find what I was looking for: a young girl from Poland who survived the death camps. I read Felicia Weingartner’s long interview (the voice of Lena which is foot noted in my book) and digested what she said. She spoke of what a young girl felt before the war, during the war and afterward. I took her words and then extrapolated from them to craft her dialogue with Will and Johann. This took a lot of empathy on my part. It was painful, but I saw that she was an extraordinarily strong woman and felt that I had to be as well.

The Errors of Mankind blends factual history with literary fiction. What was your process in deciding where to fictionalize and where to stay strictly factual?

This book deals with the process of increasing self-awareness for all three main characters. This was accomplished by having each character look at themselves through the eyes of another. The only way to do that is to convince each character that their mind-set was either completely or partially wrong, and the only way to do that is by show them factual events that correct their mindset. This was how Johann broke down Will’s preconceived notions concerning Germany and how Lena broke down Johann’s. It was also how I hoped to break down any of the readers’ preconceived notions so they could see that we are all human.

I documented all those factual events in the foot notes, which is unusual for a novel but necessary for what I was trying to accomplish.

In Better is the End, Will reflects on America’s foundational ideals versus modern realities. How did you ensure that critique remained grounded, not polemic?

While realizing that ideals are always just that, it is fair to critique how modern realities stack up against them.  I tried to ensure that any of the book’s critiques of modern realities were based on fact and logic, rather than any partisan ideology. Once again, this is why the novel is so heavily foot noted. Taking this approach minimizes any disagreement. 

Reviews praise your Socratic narrative style. How did you structure the philosophical back-and-forth between Will and Johann to maintain tension and reader engagement? 

The tension was maintained through the instructor-student dialogue, both between Will and Johann and between Lena and Johann. Johann’s facts were a genuine surprise to Will and Lena’s stories brought on a sense of genuine empathy and shame to Johann. The tension came from each character learning new facts that upset their view of the world or of themselves and left the reader wondering what effect that would have on their lives. Each new chapter was an eye-opener for one of the characters and would leave the reader wondering what would happen next.

You wrote these novels after retiring from consulting. How did your professional experience in legal IT and strategy inform your approach to writing historical fiction?

As a consultant, I had to build a convincing “story” to justify my recommendations to a client. They expected facts to back up those recommendations. More often than not, those recommendations required a wide outlay of cash for the partners in a law firm, often a personal liability for them. I felt obliged to give them recommendations based on three flavors of fact – one flavor being technological, another being financial, and the last being sociological, based on interviews with their staff as they would be the ones most affected by my recommendations.

I felt the same way in developing a story that would be convincing to my readers, presenting both factual historical events and accurate historical sociological feelings.

As a self-published author who’s received several awards, what lessons did you learn about navigating the indie publishing process for historical literary fiction?

It was very tough learning the mechanics of how the whole publishing process worked, from writing the manuscript in a professional manner to editing and formatting, to designing to cover design, publishing, and marketing.  All of it was tedious, time-consuming work.

What single piece of advice would you offer aspiring authors who want to tackle complex historical and philosophical themes in their debut novels?

Patience, perseverance, diligence and research, research, research, research … not only into the historical events you are writing about but all the other aspects of that historical period such as cultural, social, religion, economics, and politics. This is why “The Errors of Mankind” took over five years to piece together: I would write about one aspect and that lead me to question other aspects. Most important, one has to keep an open and inquisitive mind because, at the end of it, you are writing about human development. I suggest that they start with “The Sot Weed Factor” by John Barth. I read it in the Marines and its historical detail truly fascinated me.