In Conversation
Daniel Asa Rose talks to the sultan of bad -- as the sultan unloads his dishwasher.
Talk-talk about your bad boys! T. Coraghessan Boyle has always shown an affinity for characters who have overdeveloped their delinquent sides: a veritable catalogue of Peck's Bad Boys. But never before his 11th novel, Talk Talk , has he actually named one Peck. Nor has he ever before gotten so far into the head of one that you're half-rooting for the fellow to succeed in his crime, in this case stealing the identity of another complex character, a deaf schoolteacher by the name of Dana Halter. (See Ron Charles's review above.) Just before the book's publication date, which coincides with the 25th anniversary re-publication of Boyle's first novel, Water Music , Daniel Asa Rose reached him by phone at his home in Santa Barbara, Ca.
Daniel Asa Rose : I detect the clanking of dishes in the background. After all these books, are you such a pro that you give interviews even as you unload your dishwasher?
T.C. Boyle : I confess I am. But in my defense I should point out that I do 100 percent of all the work in this household: I cook the meals, I do the dishes, everything.
Q : In the book, Peck enjoys cooking, too. Do you and he make the same dishes: poached gnocchi, cordon bleu, semi-gourmet stuff like that?
TCB : The very same. And of course, Peck's character is revealed in the dishes he chooses. He thinks these are as classy as it gets.
Q : A poignant detail that helps us develop sympathy for him, even though we're supposed to feel sorry for his victim.
TCB : Isn't it wonderful when that happens? About halfway through, I realized I had the same problem old John Milton had with "Paradise Lost," in making Lucifer so much more attractive than Jesus. It makes for a richer kind of text if you can enter into the mind set of both antagonists. And after all, Dana is not perfect either.
Q : It's she, in fact, who spends time in jail -- so convincingly that it makes me wonder if you've ever experienced jail time yourself.
TCB : Yes, I have. But it's too embarrassing to talk about.
Q : Was it a youthful infraction?
TCB : It was. Early twenties.
Q : Just an overnight?
