"...we do a lot of policy-based evidence making here..."
—Nick Harkaway
Nick Harkaway is as delightful in person as he is on the page. We sat down in London to talk about his latest book, 'Tigerman,' and how he managed to craft a novel that reads like a big-screen adaptation of a great comic book. If you like the voice you hear in the interview, then you'll love the book.
For a novel that might well and accurately be described as a comic-book novel or a crime thriller, there's actually quite a bit to discuss in 'Tigerman.' Harkaway has crafted an ingenious setting in Mancreu Island, one that had me trying to look it up to see if it existed. He manages to crank up the atmosphere to the point where most readers will eel that the setting is a character, and his means of doing so make for a fun discussion.
This brings up the matter of another stealth character, of equal interest — "the Fleet." At this point, Nick began using the word "allegedly" a lot because, as he noted, the libel laws in England are liberal. One must be careful. That said, it is possible to speak clearly and carefully, and Harkaway's discussion of what is behind the Fleet is most illuminating.
The relationships between the characters are the real draw and power behind the whole story engine. Harkaway was in the process of becoming a father himself, which as anyone with experience will tell you, is a life-changing event. That informed and drove his writing and it showed in the novel in some inexplicable manner. Prose and story written in the grip of real and true and strong emotions has a quality that cannot be easily defined.
And as for story; well Harkaway grew up in a house where story reigned. His father is a well-known writer, and in Harkaway's house, you had to have a strong story to hand at any given point in the day.
09-08-14 UPDATE:Podcast Update: Time to Read Episode 171: Nick Harkaway, 'Tigerman'
Click image for audio link.
Forget about your box-office comic-book superheroes. Nick Harkaway has kicked them out of the ballpark with 'Tigerman,' which delivers superb scenes of intense action matched with heart and humor you won't find anywhere else. This is a novel you cannot afford to miss.
Here's the one-hundred and seventy-first episode of my Time to Read podcast, featuring about two minutes you won't hear on the radio. I'm just getting back in the swing here, nd just beginning to unpack from an interview-packed trip through the UK and France. Nick Harkaway was the first fellow I was lucky enough to speak to, and it was a great start.
For me, reading great books, and 'Tigerman' qualifies on every count, is an experience in memory. I can go back in my mind and visit the places in the book as easily as the places I read the the book. 'Tigerman' is a book that is full of shockingly great entertainment. It will remind you why you read.
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
