Michael Dibdin: 'Zen is someone I don't know very much about'

In a rare interview recorded in 2003, the late crime writer talks about how his Italian detective currently appearing in a new TV adaptation with Rufus Sewell was inspired by losing his job



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Murakami's 1Q84 due in English

Hotly anticipated translation of Japanese sensation will be published in a single, 1,000-page volume Great news for Haruki Murakami fans: the long-awaited English translation of 1Q84, the writer's epic novel in three volumes that has proved a huge hit in his native Japan, will be published in English in October. All three sections are to appear together in a single 1,000-page volume, translated by Harvard professor Jay Rubin. The news came in an exuberant Tweet from Knopf US publicity director Paul Bogaards. "Haruki Murakami's long-awaited magnum opus, 1Q84, out from Knopf 10/25," he told the world. "In one volume. Booyah! Midnight store openings for this one?" Harry Potter-style late-night bookshop openings may be pushing it, but such is the passion of Murakami's loyal readers that publication will certainly be an event. The appearance of the first volume of 1Q84 in Japan in 2008 was met with near-hysteria thanks to the five-year hiatus since the arriv...
Keep reading

Donald Rumsfeld memoirs reveal no regrets over Iraq

Image
Donald Rumsfeld during a tour of the notorious Abu Ghraib prison in May 2004, just after a scandal erupted over the mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners. Photograph: David Hume Kennerly/Getty Images The former US defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld believes the war in Iraq has been worth the cost and remains largely unapologetic about his handling of the conflict, according to his new autobiography.Had the government of Saddam Hussein remained in power the Middle East would be "far more perilous than it is today," Rumsfeld wrote in his 800-page memoir, scheduled for release on Tuesday but reported in today's Washington Post.Rumsfeld and other US officials cited the threat posed by Iraqi weapons of mass destruction as justification for the 2003 US-led invasion. No such weapons were found.The former defence chief was a leading architect of the Iraq war. He was fired by President George Bush in 2006 with US troops bogged down after three and half years of fighting.Rumsfeld...
Keep reading

Colm Tibn takes over Martin Amis's job

As Amis leaves for New York, Tibn installed as professor of creative writing at the University of Manchester Novelist Colm Tibn is set to take over from Martin Amis as professor of creative writing at the University of Manchester. But Tibn, currently teaching at Princeton University in America, will be earning "less" than the controversial 80,000 salary of his predecessor, according to a spokesperson for the university. The appointment of Amis in 2007 to the role his first ever teaching post resulted in uproar when it was discovered that his 80,000 salary worked out at a sky-high 3,000 an hour because his contract only obliged him to work 28 hours each year. But as his tenure comes to an end, many now consider the author to have been good value; Amis's lectures have been packed and his presence has raised the profile of the university, helping to attract other big-name literary speakers such as Howard Jacobson and John Banville. The university said there had been a 100%...
Keep reading