There is no wind or tide that can stop Chuck Palahniuk (Pasco, USA, 1962) if what is asked of him is to talk about literature. The author of Fight Club is trying to overcome the inclement weather that is hitting much of the United States these days and dedicates the little and intermittent connection he has to answering this interview, in which he brings the reader closer to his new novel, The invention of sound (Random House), with which he exposes the commodification of suffering.
He’s in Portland, in the middle of a snowstorm. He is okay?
I have been stuck in my house for eight days with no power, no water, and limited internet access.
How crazy. Talking about his new novel may help him distract himself. What interested her in the world of sound and pre-recorded screams?
Today, the most intimate aspects of our lives have been monetized. The sex cam shows, people selling their eggs and sperm or people selling their own blood. It only follows that someone would want to harvest and sell other people’s dying screams. There is money to be made!
Mitzi Ives, its protagonist, does it. Is he inspired by someone real?
I care very little about my characters. I’m more interested in the dynamics they represent. Mitzi is a girl who was born into an evil system that traps and kills people to record the sound of their death and sell that sound. The dynamic is convincing. Mitzi herself interests me less. She was born to suffer and inflict suffering. If this were movies, she would be played by Audrey Hepburn.
Do you get used to obsessing over your characters?
I’m going to tell you a secret. Every time I get sexually involved with a beautiful person and they end up rejecting me, I portray them as a character in a new book. Oh, and in fiction I kill him, of course. It’s the only way I’ve found to overcome rejection.
Do you suffer from insomnia? The drug Ambien is present throughout the novel.
The writer John Updike states that the rabbit must have a very short memory. He theorized that they escape death so frequently that unless they could forget every moment of danger, they would go mad. For me, the charm of Ambien is not that it makes you sleep but that it causes amnesia. And that lessens the burden of remorse and regret.
With what happens in this book, I’m not sure if he likes movies or hates them with all his heart. What happens at the Oscars gala…
You tell me. Never been to one of those ceremonies. I live in an isolated house in the mountains.
Has your way of perceiving sound changed after writing this book?
Going deeper into any topic always makes me appreciate the world and the work people do. It is inspiring. The incredible work they do makes me want to improve my skills and take the art of fiction to a new frontier.
Did you come across any other interesting Hollywood secret rituals during your research?
When producers present their work to a review board (the people who decide whether a film is suitable for children or adults only), the filmmakers often don’t show the most extreme soundtracks. By omitting these sounds, they make the movie seem less disturbing than it actually will end up being. The idea is to get a better grade.
Is it true that every time you write a book, you sign insurance in case those in question sue you? Do you think anyone would be bothered by this story?
In the past, publishers always offered insurance that protected both the publisher and the author for added legal protection. Since the 9/11 attacks, publishers have stopped offering this insurance, and I have wondered more than once if this isn’t a passive way of urging authors to self-censor.
Is it exhausting that, no matter what book you write, you end up being asked about Fight Club?
Truman Capote once said that turning a best-selling book into a movie is like in baseball all the players on the bases run home and the game is won. Plus, people love Brad Pitt and they can’t even pronounce my name right. I think that is absolutely wonderful since this allows me to stay home and gain weight.
He always talks about new challenges. What is left for you to do?
Starting next week I will dedicate myself to my first science fiction novel. As always, it will be an adventure.
