If you love reading…
I’m not sure Norm Jenson intended it, but I feel as though he gave me the most marvellous Christmas gift: by emailing me about a Robert Birnbaum interview with Alan Furst, a writer of historical spy novels whose work I recommended to Norm a few months ago. As it happens, there is an earlier interview with Furst, so you’ll probably want to start there (even if you’re not particularly interested in historical spy novels).
Forget the standard “I haven’t actually read the book so allow me to piss in your pocket (and that of your publisher) for ten minutes or so” interviews that are the norm these days. Picture someone who loves books and reading, then imagine that person chatting to dozens of authors, structuring each interview around informed, intelligent questions…
On his site you’ll find interviews with lots of other writers: Nicholson Baker, Julian Barnes, Alain de Botton, James Ellroy, Richard Ford, Thomas McGuane, Tim O’Brien, Susan Orlean, Nick Tosches, and Sarah Vowell. (I realize that my choices—from a much longer list—probably say more about me than I would like to admit, as do Mark Pilgrim’s “TiVo season passes and auto-recording wishlists.”
Robert Birnbaum has also photographed many writers, including Isabel Allende, Joan Didion, Richard Price, and Studs Terkel. I wish he’d interviewed them too… particularly Richard Price.
I signed up for the email notification at Identity Theory when I first discovered the site several weeks ago. I spent most of that evening reading Birnbaum's fabulous interviews. I particularly enjoyed his interview with Jim Crace author of Being Dead a book I heartily recommend. Jonathon is right It wasn't intended as a Christmas gift, but that he has accepted it as such has shortened my shopping list and has relieved me of some real stress over having missed the mailing deadlines for Austrailia. So when I recently received an email with the latest interview with Faust I was delighted and since It was Jonathon that introduced me to Furst I knew he would be interested. I was so excited to see the interview that I immediately started reading the questions and answers somehow missing the link to the previous interview. Thanks Jonathon, the first interview was a dandy.
Posted by: Norm Jenson on 12 December 2002 at 12:44 PM