It is not uncommon for writers to step outside the box, the box representing social mores, or even their own better judgement. We tend to try on the masks of others, even our enemies, in order to better gain insight into their actions and beliefs. Call it the philosophy of liberal arts, if you must. But there is some form of consilience in attempting this feat of transformation into the psychological mind of someone else and walk the cultural, theological, social, and political landscape upon which this person leaves their mark.
I read with much interest today the summary of John Updike's press conference at the National Book Expo in Washington, D.C., for his new novel, Terrorist, "a novel about Ahmad Mulloy Ashmawy, a New Jersey high school graduate whose disgust with the material world leads to his recruitment as a suicide bomber."
I'd like to highlight two points he made in his speech: 1) Book sellers must defend the printed book, for they are like "citadels of light" in their communities; and 2) writing about the current state of the world and its complex dichotomy of class structures and terrorism, he created this novel out of a "gesture of friendship." Consider these paragraphs from the article:
"I've often wondered about suicide bombers, because to a Western Judeo-Christian, it's pretty much a no-no, it's almost the ultimate sin," Updike says.
"And I'm impressed by not only the number of suicide bombers but the continued ability to recruit young men and young women. It's a measure of the depth of resentment and the sense of depression and helplessness that certain parts of the world feel about the West."*****
"I think certain of our Puritan forebears would find a great deal in common with some of the imams and mullahs," Updike says. "What we're facing in Osama bin Laden is really a revival movement, like the American fundamentalist movement is a reaction to liberalism in the church."****
"I knew when I wrote this ('Terrorist') that this was sort of thin ice, a touchy matter," he says. "On the other hand, as an American writer, one should have right to write about the world as best as he can and as variously as he can. That's why you have an imagination, as well as a memory."
Updike has won two Pulitzers and two National Book Awards.
7:27:57 PM  | |
|
|
