Interview Roundup

• My longstanding hostility to Paulo Coelho is a matter of public record, so it’s not going to surprise any of you that I think his latest interview, with the AP’s Angela Doland, strikes me as being just as insipid as the previous ones–and as his books. At least this time around, the story buries the usual sobbing about how the Coelho isn’t as big in America as he is in Europe, focusing instead on how the guy whose latest novel had a combined international print run of 8 million copies tries to live a simple life–while spending four months of the year in France, another four in Brazil, and the rest making publicity appearances around the world as four assistants answer his fan mail.

• Bruce Sterling has a long conversation with a writer from a fan site for J.G. Ballard, “the first science-fiction writer I ever read who really blew my mind.”

• Speaking of long conversations, here’s Robert Birnbaum and Stuart Dybek.

• And the 92nd St. Y continues to post interesting material to its blog—recent items include short interviews with former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich, who’s going to appear on Oct. 16th with Barbara Ehrenreich, and Ken Follett, who just seems to enjoy talking about thrillers.

• Oh, one more, because it’s sui generis: Alan Moore asks Brian Eno questions.

6 October 2005 | interviews |