The book certainly comes off as demanding, while your persona is asking himself these existential questions, some deeper than others, it also commands the reader to question themselves, opening the door for various, personal interpretations. Speaking of such, what has the reception been like? I’m thinking about the sexual language in particular.
Thank you, I'm very glad you asked that question. In the months leading up to publication, I was in an extreme state of anxiety about how the book would be received, particularly about its many explicit sexual passages. I was worried that I might be attacked by whatever “cancel culture” is about these days. But all my anxiety was for nothing. It was just in my head, as usual. Haha. Instead, even before the book's official publication date, it sold out.
I read that. That's nuts.
It's nuts, right? My publisher was like, “What the hell, we have four launch events lined up. We don't have enough books!” That caused a slight panic. But, of course, that's a good type of panic; we figured it out. And the warm reception, especially from younger readers, has been a wild surprise. The situation makes a great story in itself. That's why I reached out to office, for you must be the younger generation, right?
Right. A generation which above all is described, and identified, as very “woke,” where explicit language, of women in particular, hasn’t necessarily been on screaming demand. However, the difference between your words and many other works is that your narrator addresses the impact of the larger culture which he so obsessively consumes.
100%. You really caught that. The Jack in the book is not simply a steaming sexual Id. I was trying to portray his entire reality. The narrator, reflecting on his feelings toward women, is aware that his sexual desires or provocations or kinks are somewhat manufactured by mass culture.
But to some extent those desires are also part of our animalistic nature, underneath their fabricated capital. How far can we blame consumerism for our failure and how much of it is our own flaws?
Wow. Yes! It seems that only a minority of people take authority for their actions and feelings, including sexual realms. It’s important that both writers and readers are aware of their own responsibilities, and try to understand who they are at essence as well as those “outside” forces that helped shape them.
It seems most people, when it comes to sex or politics, for example, don't question their influences, how they are being manipulated by media, language or culture. Perhaps you and I fit into the first mentioned, the “hipster world” if you like (although it’s an inadequate term), which is of the intellectual, provocative kind. Hence we’re accustomed to self-analyzing, becoming overly self-conscious, many mini self-doubting Hamlets — much like the narrator — seeking what’s hidden not only behind society but beyond himself.
“Jack” has a character arc even though the narrative is very unstructured. He is anxious and conflicted. He has terrible social anxiety, as when he is shrinking in the corner at a Hollywood punk party, for example. He also consumes mushrooms and LSD, and has a couple bad trips, which cause further ego-dissolution and boost his obsessions and depressions. Including some scary suicidal moments. But eventually he finds flashpoints where he seems to have gained insight. He's then able to flip his perception of these experiences and take control of them.
His own authority grows towards the end of the story, where the narrative gets very cosmic — but still comic — and he finally understands that his imagination is the key to "being", to entering a world of art. He forms a creative identity that is more comfortable for him.
However, he never manages to escape his existential prison to the full extent. He’s still doubting himself towards the end. The last section of the book is dominated by questions, and the answers shine in their absence. But I think he does achieve, as you previously suggested, somewhat of a separation between himself and his surroundings; a transcendent state of mind.
