Novelists: who can trust them? Delicate creatures with arcane quirks, twisted souls and artistic whims, if you ask me.
In this vein, I bring both good news and bad: tomorrow’s Fiction Lab will not, as previously advertised, be invaded by a television camera crew. Despite all our best efforts, Daniel Kehlmann remains deliciously incommunicado – or as he might say in his native German, nicht erreichbar. Indeed, according to his long-suffering agent, he “occasionally goes into self-imposed exile to write in Kazakhstan”. For some reason this prospect leaves me feeling a bit more warm and fuzzy about global warming, the credit crunch, the coming apocalyse et cetera. After all, if even fame and fortune can’t draw a writer out of his garret, then the world is not completely sanitized and predicable.
That’s the bad news. The good news is that the beady eye of Fame is now firmly aimed on our own Dr Gee, whose first novel By The Sea will be scrutinized, criticized and thoroughly documentized by TV cameras at the next Fiction Lab session on 3 November (of which, more later) — cue images of lionesses yanking off steaming hunks of bloody antelope with their jaws. (Just kidding, Henry: I’m sure they’ll all be on their best behavior.)
For now, I hope that those of you who are in it for the literature, rather than the spotlights, will still turn up tomorrow at the RI and help me come to terms with the ending of Measuring The World which, I admit, is still causing me some consternation.
Novelists: who can fathom them?
Jenny, I totally missed your last post about the topic. I’m sorry that David Kehlmann isn’t showing up, but I very much enjoyed reading his book. In the German original the language is very dry, but fits perfectly with the story. I don’t know how that translates into English.
Hi Martin
Pity you can’t be around tomorrow, then: a German perspective would be useful. No, the tone was fine — the irony came through quite well, and it was very funny. I just felt that the ending fell apart into a puddle of unformed mush — a distinct contrast from the pacing and craft of the first two-thirds of the story. The meeting of the two minds ought to have been cataclysmic: instead, it was a bit of a muddled anti-climax for me.
What? No cameras? That does it, I’m not coming.
You’ll have plenty of time to save up your money for a flight in November, Eva.
oh. “those” types of writers really exists?! How exciting. I guess it’s bad to be happy since that leaves the plans to be changed but I kind of agree with you Jenny – all is not lost in the world if that still happens.
I wish you good luck with the book reviews and talks even without cameras adn continue to hope that I will be in London sometime when these things still go on….. there is no such thing as hope :)
Dr Gee’s agent confirms that Dr Gee has no plans to visit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan in November.
‘Fiction lab much more exciting than production of potassium,’ Dr Gee said yesterday, from underneath the fourth best whore in Kazakhstan, in his home town of Kupce, Norfolk. ‘Is good. You like. You buy book. We have sexy time. Please bring your own chicken.’
‘Writers, eh?’ added Dr Gee’s agent. ‘They sure know how to have a good time.’
Alas I won’t be able to make it to the November meeting either. I hope Dr. Gee’s slides explaining the embryological aspects of the novel will be available online.
Cripes. I lie awake worrying about that. I do have extensive notes on the subject. I hope I haven’t lost them. I feel a powerpoint presentation coming on. Maybe I’ll write a paper on the subject and send it to Nature Precedings .
Yeah, they publish anything there.
Don’t worry, Henry: I still have the life cycle you drew for me when I got confused!
I’ll will have to be savings up my copeks and take the mule train to London in November to see the
humiliationtriumph of Dr Gee. Only problem is, I will have to buy a copy of hisdamneddamned fine book. Hmm.I still have the life cycle you drew for me when I got confused!
Thanks Jenny. I might need it. I’ve already had practice for Fiction Lab, though. I gave a copy of the book to my bro-in-law (who used to be a laboratory scientist in a hospital until he
went over to the dark sidegot a job in IT). After he’d read it he took me to the pub and gave me a right talking-to.Oh, dear.
Well, the beauty of POD is that you can make changes to the text at any time!
I’ve found my notes, now, and have made a nice powerpoint slide…
Oooh…I wish was there for the
slaughtermayhemdwarf fetishismevent!We’ve already done a novel about a hyper-sexual dwarf so everyone will be prepared on that front at least!
Henry, I don’t think you’ll need to produce an apologia about the details of the science. Most of the group are non-scientists who aren’t too fussed about details.
Well, there is Stephen, of course. But as there is a nautical exploration thread in your book, I reckon he’ll be happy with that!
Thanks, Jenny
- I shall consider myself suitably soothed. Others should be -excitedwarned about the copiously graphic sex and violence in the novel. Sadly, though, there is very little in the way of the release of calcium from intracellular stores. Well, I suppose there is, but it’s only hinted at. There are some lines one should not cross.The ones with stripy lines and marked ‘Police’, usually.
ba boom…tsh!
I didn’t do it, officer. I put my fist out, and his face fell on it.
Henry, I did consider asking the RI if we needed a sexual advisory notices, but we’ve had sex scenes in several of our books and no one has yet complained. I’m inclined just to leave it as is.