In part two of my conversation with Tomas Gonzalez in an echoey London hotel, we continued to discuss his dark, autobiographical debut novel In the Beginning was the Sea. ----more----
We began with the influence of Carson McCullers, William Faulkner and Gabriel Garcia Marques, then moved onto:
- the beauty and horror of nature
- man's environmental transgressions
- Gonzalez on how we are turning the planet into a garbage dump
- the sea as a symbol in Colombia
- humankind's hubris
- the place of religion and mysticism in his work
- his anger with his brother
- how writing can help understand death and pain
- the importance of the quiet life for Gonzalez
- 'Human beings are too successful for their own good'
- writing about Colombia from abroad
- Gonzalez's pessimism for the future
- Gonzalez on Marquez and magical realism in Colombian fiction
- 'It's all so fucking difficult and so fucking beautiful'
- horror and beauty in Gonzalez work
- on J' wife Elena as character and reality
- the future: past novels and future short stories
