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eerie silence the month before he killed himself. I just
knew something was badly fucked-up somewhere, but
had no idea how badly. I wasn’t at all surprised when I
heard the news. I’d prepared myself. It’s one of those
deaths that you didn’t think would affect you much but
does. Jim Henson was one. Dr Seuss was another. All
three of the above have to do with youth and happy
memories of youth followed by loss.
The question of the essential hollowness of fame,
money and material possessions which emerges
from ‘Brentwood Notebook’ and the East Berlin
postcards seems to lead to a certain melancholy.
Yes.
There’s a Godless but still wholly spiritual element
which figures heavily in your work and tends to get
ignored precisely because of all the PCs and Postmodernity
which people – interviewers especially
– prefer to favour. What’s even more interesting is
that there’s no condemnatory tone to the quest for
these things, only a realisation as to their inherent
uselessness. In your work, there’s the day-to-day
fun of life, the exhilaration and exasperation of information
overload, but there’s also this meditative
element that asks the eternal questions.
The next book deals with these in a big way (I hope).
I’ve come to believe that the only decisions that matter
are those decisions made in the face of eternity. The
future is not eternity. It’s an important distinction. I
think PCs grouch at me because I don’t fall into and
victim categories, and Postmodernists kind of like
me only as long as what I do is construed to be of the
hyper-moment, “more now than now.” Both seem to be
short-term (to say the least!) views.
FUN FACT: The next novel is called Girlfriend in a
Coma (after The Smiths’ song.)
Aargh! Doug – don’t do it! Not The Smiths – they
almost ruined my adolescence!
What IS your problem with The Smiths? They’re
great. Almost all UK bands from the 1980s are great.
Even Bonnie Tyler in her own weird way. BTW: where
is she now? Harper’s magazine over here had a statistic
once showing that people are most nostalgic in later
years for the music that was current at the age of 23.
I’d agree.
Has Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh come to your
attention?
Yes. It’s extremely popular. I tried reading it, but it was
so thick and Glaswegian. I’m glad the movie got made.
Drugs and rave culture. What do you think?
That’s so American! In a funny way. Anyway, I don’t
know much about rave culture but I like the outfits. I’ve
really never spent more than ten hours cumulatively in
a nightclub all told. I’m more ‘pubby.’ (a publican? is
there some other word?)
As for drugs I really have to watch it. Even vitamins
spazz me out for up to 48 hours. I grew up on the West
BUY Douglas Coupland books online from and
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