Virtual Memories Show 625:
Jonathan Ames
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“My primary reading for a while now has been private detective novels and various Buddhist philosophical tests. So when Happy expounds on these things, in a way it’s that I love reading these sorts of books.”
Can LA private detective Happy Doll live up to the Four Noble Truths and escape the cycle of Samsara? Jonathan Ames returns to the show to help answer that question and celebrate his new novel, KARMA DOLL (Mulholland Books)! We talk about the joy of reading (& writing) page-turners, how his lead character Happy Doll has evolved over three novels (so far!), what it’s like bringing Buddhism into a detective novel, and how his (& Happy’s) LA has changed since he began this series. We get into how he managed to avoid writing about the worst days of the pandemic while keeping Karma Doll contemporary, how writing the Doll novels has affected his understanding of Buddhism, and how he’s living up to the lesson he always gave students: write what you love. We also discuss TV writing and how it took him away from prose-writing for a decade or so, the need to make art and the transitoriness of bliss, how the LA fires left him driving all over the place like he was in a Lew Archer novel, his fave reads & TV shows, how we both played with dolls as kids in the woods of northern NJ, and a lot more. Give it a listen! And go read KARMA DOLL! (and A Man Named Doll and The Wheel of Doll!)
(Oh, and go listen to our 2018 and 2022 conversations!)
“If I was an actor, Happy Doll would be a character I’m playing. He might sound like me, but he’s his own guy.”
“Here I am, 61 years old, still playing with my doll.”
Enjoy the conversation! Then check out the archives for more great episodes!
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About our Guest
Jonathan Ames is the author of several books, including Wake Up, Sir! and, most recently, The Wheel of Doll and A Man Named Doll. His novels The Extra Man and You Were Never Really Here have been adapted into films, and he’s the creator of two television series, Blunt Talk and Bored to Death. His new book is Karma Doll.
Follow Jonathan on Bluesky, and listen to our 2018 and 2022 conversations!
Credits: This episode’s music is Fella by Hal Mayforth, used with permission from the artist. The conversation was recorded remotely via Zencastr. I used a Heil PR-40 Dynamic Studio Recording Microphone feeding into a Zoom PodTrak P4. All processing and editing done in Adobe Audition CC. Photo of Jonathan & Fezzik by Anne Thornton; photo of Jonathan solo by me; photo of me & Fezzik by Jonathan. It’s on my instagram.