I've never read anything by Will Self, though I've seen his latest, Book of Dave, all over the local bookstores lately. Last week he caught my eye when I saw photos of his writing room—he apparently writes his novels on post-it notes (and by the way, did you follow the link from that post? There are a ton more photos of the room besides the one I lifted). Now I learn he's quite the marathon walker: he walked from his house to Heathrow Airport (26 miles), flew to JFK, walked to Crown Heights, then the next day walked to Manhattan. It's a little ridiculous. But yesterday's New York Times article has me curious about Mr. Self.
...Mr. Self, who is unusually tall and very thin and has a long, melancholy face that he once described as looking “like a bag full of genitals,” packed his knapsack, rolled a cigarette and, puffing from a Hunter Thompson-style cigarette holder, set off on foot for Manhattan.
Smoking is Mr. Self’s only remaining vice. He used to be a prodigious drinker and drug-taker, famous for late-night altercations, not always coherent public appearances and marathon hours at trendy spots like the Groucho Club. During Britain’s general election of 1997, he set a new standard for journalistic infamy by getting himself bounced off John Major’s campaign plane for snorting heroin in the bathroom.
I love that he's a smoker.
I don't know if any of this means he's a great writer (to be honest, the plot summary of Book of Dave doesn't really interest me—religious satire just seems so tired, generally speaking), but something about this guy's obsessive personality makes me want to check into his backlist.
whoa... that link is amazing... i've never been interested in what his books might be either, but man do i have post-it envy!
Posted by: sroden | December 08, 2006 at 04:23 PM