"It turned out that for years, stuff was just based on wives' tales." — David Grann
David Grann makes reality as interesting, as involving, as fiction. That's no small accomplishment. As I was talking to him about his short story collection collection of non-fiction articles 'The Devil and Sherlock Holmes,' I literally had to keep reminding myself that it was non-fiction; articles, not short stories.
That's because Grann writes about what he knows, in a most particularly inclusive manner — obsession. Grann himself is an obsessive, and that key gets him into the minds and experiences of a wide variety of people. Plus, he just happens to write non-fiction with the grace and beauty, to my mind, the style of a fiction writer. Of course everything is documented, but the result of his "fictional" feel is that his work seem more alive, more there than most non-fiction.
As I read Grann's latest book, I picked it apart as if it were a collection of short stories, with common themes, common tropes and approaches to his material. Grann knows how to write himself into and out of a story, the precise amount of Doctor Watson, shall we say to provide the perspective on the adventures of his actual Sherlock Holmes.
Grann was there in that boat all night, on the verge of puking, hoping to help catch a baby giant squid, and he spent quality time with the human chameleon. He works through the scene of what may have been a crime, and the inconclusive nature of what he finds feels both more realistic than a work of fiction yet has the feel of the best fiction where readers are left to draw their own conclusions.
This time around, I interviewed Grann in his hotel as he swung through San Francisco. It was a relaxed and easy interview. We talked about the themes of his book without spending too much time of the plots of his stories. As I said, Grann brings the skills of a fiction writer to his non-fiction. You can join us in San Francisco by following this link to the MP3 audio file.
New to the Agony Column
09-18-15: Commentary : William T. Vollman Amidst 'The Dying Grass' : An Epic Exploration of Simultaneity
Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with William T. Vollman : "...a lot of long words that in our language are sentences..."
09-05-15: Commentary : Susan Casey Listens to 'Voices in the Ocean' : Science, Empathy and Self
Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Susan Casey : "...the reporting for this book was emotionally difficult at times..."
08-21-15: Agony Column Podcast News Report : Senator Claire McCaskill is 'Plenty Ladylike' : Internalizing Determination to Overcome Sexism [Incudes Time to Read EP 211: Claire McCaskill, Plenty Ladylike, plus A 2015 Interview with Senator Claire McCaskill]
Agony Column Podcast News Report : Emily Schultz Unleashes 'The Blondes' : A Cure by Color [Incudes Time to Read EP 210: Emily Schultz, The Blondes, plus A 2015 Interview with Emily Schultz]
07-05-15: Commentary : Dr. Michael Gazzaniga Tells Tales from Both Sides of the Brain : A Life in Neuroscience Reveals the Life of Science
Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Michael Gazzaniga : "We made the first observation and BAM there was the disconnection effect..."
04-21-15: Commentary : Kazuo Ishiguro Unearths 'The Buried Giant' : The Mist of Myth and Memory
Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Kazuo Ishiguro : ".... by the time I was writing this novel, the lines between what was fantasy and what was real had blurred for me..."
Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Marc Goodman : "...every physical object around us is being transformed, one way or another, into an information technology..."
Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 199: Marc Goodman : Future Crimes: Everything Is Connected, Everyone Is Vulnerable and What We Can Do About It
