Chapter 78 "History is a strange country"

Stuart Neville has published his fourth book.The famous American crime novelist James Ellroy in his "underworld trilogy" Px American Tabloid (American Tabloid, 1995), "The Cold Six Thousand" (The Cold Six Thousand, 2001) and "Cars of Blood" (Blood's Rover, 2009), with short and concise sentences and fast-changing scenes, it presents a grotesque and endless swamp-like Los Angeles, exposing the scars of American political chaos in the 1960s (Bay of Pigs Incident, Martin Luther Assassinations of King and Kennedy).Like James, Neville also ambitiously scoured Irish history at the same time for sources of novel creation.You'll find that this is a story of corruption and conspiracy, featuring characters including Nazis, terrorists, assassins, mercenaries and Irish politicians who took refuge in Ireland after World War II.It was a far cry from his previous Jack Lennon police stories in Belfast.Today we have the author, who was born in County Armagh, Ulster, Northern Ireland, to talk about the novel and more…

Q: Was it a little uncomfortable for you not to be writing Inspector Jack Lennon in The Conspiracy and The Stolen Soul?Will Jack Lennon come back? A: Even though it's a thriller, I enjoyed taking a break from the Belfast setting of the novel and writing something very different.I thought, when I started writing the Jack Lennon story again, it might be a fresh perspective.I'm pretty sure Jack Leigh will be back in some new form in the future. Q: What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages of describing real historical figures in fiction? A: I've always loved novels that look at real people from the side, such as those by James Ellroy and Eon McNamee.It is a gift to the reader to include characters like Otto, Skorzeny and Charles Howie in the novel, although they are much taller than real people, it is a little bit unintentionally exaggerated to describe these characters. difficult.

Q: As a Northern Irishman, do you think you're taking a risk by writing about the Republic of Ireland's ambiguous, ambiguous relationship with Germany during and after World War II? A: Because the book is set 50 years ago, it is feasible for me to write the history of the Republic of Ireland at that time.I would be hesitant to set a story in present-day Dublin, as I am not a resident of the city.But history is a strange country, as the saying goes, and those fifty years meant that writers north of the frontier had as much say on the issue as writers south of the frontier. Q: The main character Albert, Ryan, fought very bravely for the Confederates during World War II, and his family paid the price for that.Ryan's comrades were punished for fighting the Nazis, but the Irish government recently apologized to them. How do you think Albert in the novel feels about that?

A: I think he'll be happy with the apology, but even more happy with the fact that Irish society in general has moved on from the hatred of the past.Over the past few years, there has been a greater recognition of the shared history of Great Britain and Ireland, which is good for both countries. Q: Frankly, I have a crush on Celia Hume in the movie, will we have a chance to see her again in the future? A: If Albert Ryan comes back - and that's what I hope - then of course Celia will be there for him.I wrote a short story before, called "The Craftsman" ("The Craftsman"), which tells the story of Albert and Celia as they grow old.Earlier this year, an up-and-coming director adapted… a short film from the book.If anyone wants to watch it, they can find it online, but a word of warning: it doesn't end in a comedy.

Q: A TV producer called you to make a four-hour TV series. Can you imagine who would play Albert, Celia and Skorzeny?Modern actors only.money is not the problem! A: I don't normally do this kind of thing, but I did write the script for the opening part of the film. Q: You recently took a courageous stand against the phony, "ruining" reviews that appear on Amazon.com.Can the efforts of you and other writers put a stop to this behavior? A: I hope the authors of those comments think twice before doing that kind of thing.They should realize that the embarrassment of being found out isn't worth it.

Q: There seem to be many symbolic people, places and events in Ireland's cultural history, such as Croke Park in Ireland.So, do these help you write or hinder you? A: These symbolic characters, places and events serve as cultural navigation marks or identifiable objects, which help my creation. For example, the upcoming visit of Kennedy written in the novel will help readers understand the place and time of the novel.But there is a danger that they become anchors for the novel—they become a shortcut for setting the writing scene.So I hope I can strike a good balance between the two. Q: What other writers do you admire?Were there any literary or stylistic influences on you?

A: The aforementioned James Ellroy was a big influence on me, and I hope to borrow a historical moment in the novel and use it as a framework for the novel, like his "Underworld trilogy" , At the same time, I am also a fan of Ted Lewis. It is a pity that his importance is underestimated.