Nominator: Megan Sullivan
Nominee: Divided Kingdom, Rupert Thomson
Subjects Discussed: How the idea came about, relentlessly cheery Swedish girlfriends, how Rupert Thomson processes his prodigious research, Ian McEwan, inspiration vs. craft, the trappings of being a "speculative fiction writer," entertaining novels vs. literary novels, the difficulties of first-person narration, George Orwell, Anthony Burgess' The Wanting Seed, Mikhail Bulgakov and literary influences.
Backup Link: (MP3)
(A co-production of the LBC and The Bat Segundo Show.)
That was fascinating to listen to - a very interesting literary conversation.
Maybe one day there'll be a 900 page "director's cut" version of Divided Kingdom out there for we fans. I am stunned to hear that Thomson rewrote this book between ten and eleven times including one draft at 900 pages.
I loved his statement that he sees his work as a balance between the imagined and the real facts, with the imaginary facts being the more important of the two.
Also, Thomson = FOC's literary godson? Have to mull that one over a bit.
Another great job!
Posted by: Dan Wickett | Feb 13, 2006 at 10:34 AM