{"id":8996,"date":"2015-08-31T20:25:18","date_gmt":"2015-09-01T00:25:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/?p=8996"},"modified":"2015-09-07T19:38:22","modified_gmt":"2015-09-07T23:38:22","slug":"episode-132-rootless-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/episode-132-rootless-people","title":{"rendered":"Episode 132 – Rootless People"},"content":{"rendered":"

Virtual Memories Show #132:
\nChristopher Bollen – Rootless People<\/a><\/p>\n

http:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/virtualmemories\/Episode_132_-_Rootless_People.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div>

Podcast: Play in new window<\/a> | Download<\/a><\/p>

Subscribe: Spotify<\/a> | TuneIn<\/a> | RSS<\/a> | More<\/a><\/p>\n

“I wanted to be a writer since I knew that I couldn’t be a detective.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"tumblr_noaa2szheD1u3hieto1_500\"<\/a>We close out the summer of 2015 with a great summer novel, Orient<\/a>\"\" (Harper) by Christopher Bollen<\/a>! We talk about his new book, the difference between a “smart murder mystery” and a “literary thriller,” the perils of Male First Novel Syndrome (as evinced in Lightning People: A Novel<\/a>\"\"), the challenges of writing about Long Island, how his years at Interview<\/em> magazine honed his ear for dialogue, his fascination with rootlessness, why it’s too easy to parody the contemporary art scene, and more! Give it a listen!<\/a><\/p>\n

“Remember how you could totally judge a stranger by what they were reading? Now we’ve totally lost that cue, thanks to e-books.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

We also talk about Christopher’s impending 40th birthday, his reverse mid-life crisis, “kids today,” the people he now realizes he should’ve been nervous about interviewing when he was young, the allure of detective stories, why childhood bookish shut-ins have great skin when they get older, how I once nearly blew up a shopping mall back in my high school years, and whether the actual inhabitants of Orient were peeved about his new novel.<\/p>\n

“You don’t interview Fran Lebowitz; it’s more like you’re her audience.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

http:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/virtualmemories\/Episode_132_-_Rootless_People.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div>

Podcast: Play in new window<\/a> | Download<\/a><\/p>

Subscribe: Spotify<\/a> | TuneIn<\/a> | RSS<\/a> | More<\/a><\/p>\n

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We talk about some books and movies in this episode. Here’s a list of ’em (Note: if I ever go to a Patreon crowdfunding model for the show, this is the first thing that goes subscriber-only)<\/em>:<\/p>\n