“Because we are all God’s children.”—British novelist Nick Hornby, explaining why he remains nonjudgmental about his loser characters, quoted by Lucy Kellaway, “Lunch With the FT: Nick Hornby,” The Financial Times, September 12, 2009
You can almost see the astonishment of interviewer Kellaway as she wonders about that last surprising statement from Nick Hornby: “For a minute I wonder if he has become religious, but…”
You don’t have to read the rest of the sentence to feel Kellaway’s sense of palpable relief. Such a relief, not having to deal with a religious fanatic, instead of an author hawking his new book (Juliet, Naked) or screenplay (An Education). Next thing you know, ol’ Nick would be mentioning “God” (or, maybe that’s the right word—it doesn’t come up too much among the chattering classes.)
The rest of the interview, I submit, is a masterly self-characterization by Hornby, in which he lightly disclaims serious intent in his work, only to acknowledge that he has indeed known his own share of failure and suffering.
Only what if Kellaway were wrong? What if Hornby were doing something more than engaging in literary hyperbole by likening his literary creations to a deity’s real creations?
What if, in fact, he is using the mode of entertainer—the witty, album-listing author of novels on wasters—to suggest that some matters in life are deadly serious (About a Boy, after all, includes a despairing single mom); that life itself, that life itself, our obsession with trivia notwithstanding, remains infinitely valuable; that everyone, no matter how blighted our lives seem or how many mistakes we might make, possesses a common trait that entitles us to dignity; and that there is an ineffable but palpable force out there responsible for it all?
You can almost see the astonishment of interviewer Kellaway as she wonders about that last surprising statement from Nick Hornby: “For a minute I wonder if he has become religious, but…”
You don’t have to read the rest of the sentence to feel Kellaway’s sense of palpable relief. Such a relief, not having to deal with a religious fanatic, instead of an author hawking his new book (Juliet, Naked) or screenplay (An Education). Next thing you know, ol’ Nick would be mentioning “God” (or, maybe that’s the right word—it doesn’t come up too much among the chattering classes.)
The rest of the interview, I submit, is a masterly self-characterization by Hornby, in which he lightly disclaims serious intent in his work, only to acknowledge that he has indeed known his own share of failure and suffering.
Only what if Kellaway were wrong? What if Hornby were doing something more than engaging in literary hyperbole by likening his literary creations to a deity’s real creations?
What if, in fact, he is using the mode of entertainer—the witty, album-listing author of novels on wasters—to suggest that some matters in life are deadly serious (About a Boy, after all, includes a despairing single mom); that life itself, that life itself, our obsession with trivia notwithstanding, remains infinitely valuable; that everyone, no matter how blighted our lives seem or how many mistakes we might make, possesses a common trait that entitles us to dignity; and that there is an ineffable but palpable force out there responsible for it all?
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