The author of books such as ‘Fight Club’ and ‘Choke’ returns with the story of two brothers obsessed with nature documentaries and murder.
In an interview edited for length and clarity, Palahniuk talked about the voice of his narrator Cecil, themes of addiction and conspiracy theories, and why his over-the-top plans for his L.A. signing are a bit of a nightmare.Every once in a while, I’ll remember something that was really upsetting and just emotionally engaging as a kid. And one was always those nature documentaries where predators would come across a baby and its nest.
And on another really powerful level, I wanted it to be a book about addiction and how, boom, once you kind of fall into that rut of addiction, 30 years can go by and you realize you’re still kind of emotionally trapped back in whatever time you became addicted. And it feels like this enormous waste and you can’t believe that so much of your life has just disappeared.
In a way, when Grandfather goes to have this talk with Judy Garland, he is the archangel approaching the Virgin Mary, and saying, ‘I’m going to choose you to have Christ, and this is why you’ve been chosen and this is what the whole mission is. It is really the visitation that I’m putting on the page and sort of repopulating with contemporary figures.
That was the funnest part, when you know the voice is going to work, and you know that half the sentences are going to start with the word ‘here,’ or the phrase, ‘You see,’ or ‘Clever Otto.’ Those little two words, almost like a couplet: ‘Dismal mother,’ ‘Downtrodden mother.’ Those little pacing devices are just such a joy to work. I would read 100 books in that voice.
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