Monday, May 22, 2006

Dulcet But Creepy

I've just been watching DBC Pierre on Denton. (I'm not sure DBCP qualifies as 'Australian literature', actually. Denton, as the son of novelist Kit Denton and himself a prolific writer if not strictly of 'literature', is probably a more legitimate topic for this purist blog.)

DBCP has an extraordinarily beautiful voice. He also has some gripping tales to tell -- tales of exotic places, larger-than-life characters, extreme experiences and shady deals. That is, he is formidably equipped as a fiction writer.

But I found his performance deeply disturbing and weird. If the cats brought him inside, I think I would put him back out in the garden.
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10 comments:

  1. Perry MiddlemissMay 24, 2006 at 2:07 PM

    It's the "used-car saleman" feel about him. I'd have a beer with him - which he seemed to be drinking at the start of the interview - but I think I'd make sure he paid for his shout.

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  2. SarahMay 24, 2006 at 9:25 PM

    I don't think he's like that. it was a poor interview. he normally has a genuine, intelligent countenance. still, your line about the cat is funny. it's true he came across asa bit creepy, though not half as creepy as Marcia Hines, it has to be said.

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  3. Matt da SilvaMay 25, 2006 at 8:40 PM

    DBC is a big favourite of mine so I think it would be better if I just shut up and went away.

    But I felt the interview was -- as usual with DBC -- very entertaining. He's been to some places most people never approach, out of fear. And he's come through. To me it was a touching performance. I can't wait for his next novel to appear.

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  4. Perry MiddlemissMay 26, 2006 at 11:51 AM

    I wonder if this is turning into a "bloke" thing. I reckon he'd have some good yarns to tell over a beer so I'd enjoy his company. I wonder also if women see the charm and are suspicious.

    I know reviewers were very split on "Vernon" but I didn't take any notice of the gender breakdown. I gave the book to my 65-year-old ex-stepmother in 2004 and she loved it.

    And as Sarah says, Marcia Hines was quite strange.

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  5. genevieveMay 29, 2006 at 9:57 PM

    I have yet to see him talk - but there's nothing wrong with having a genuine whacker turn up every now and again. I must be the only person alive who didn't know who AD's father is either. We have his book on Breaker Morant here.
    I got really rather mad with him the other week when he went after Michael Leunig though - not watching Enough Rope for a while.

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  6. elsewhereJune 2, 2006 at 11:08 AM

    Yeah, I found him very weird, tho Leonard demurred on this subject. I also felt AD was struggling to concentrate on what he was saying at times -- struggling a bit to maintain interest in both him and the Big M. It came as no surprise when DBC admitted he'd been diagnosed with a personality disorder.

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  7. Kerryn GoldsworthyJune 2, 2006 at 7:14 PM

    Well, exactly. And that particular personality disorder, too. Well, DER, I said.

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  8. Books and Tea For TwoJune 25, 2006 at 6:22 AM

    He has the most divine voice, doesn't he? Its so rich and to be honest, he looked nothing like I expected.

    Now that you mention it, I felt something weird about him, but I don't think he was as weird as I actually expected.

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  9. Kerryn GoldsworthyJune 25, 2006 at 11:55 AM

    be_zen8, that is one very cool gravatar!

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  10. poetJuly 3, 2006 at 8:29 PM

    i didnt think he was weird at all..does that make me weird too? i felt he was a fantasist caught in a kind of tabloid nightmare about his past which was pretty embarrassing to him i felt...and he made a fair go at explaining it. tho why the hell he should have to...? this is literature, not a court of law

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