Chapter 7: The Interview

Ans: In its highest form, an interview is a source of truth and an art. It is a supremely serviceable medium of communication. Through interviews, we get our most vivid impressions of our contemporaries.

Ans: Most celebrity writers view interviews as an unwarranted intrusion into their private lives. They feel it diminishes their personality (similar to the primitive belief that a photo steals your soul). Rudyard Kipling even called it "vile," "cowardly," and a "crime."

Ans: In some primitive cultures, it is believed that if one takes a photographic portrait of somebody, one is stealing that person's soul.

Ans: This expression was used by Saul Bellow. It conveys the feeling of being suffocated or choked. Bellow felt that giving an interview was so oppressive and intrusive that it felt like someone was physically strangling him.

Ans: According to Umberto Eco, the success of the book is a mystery. He believes the timing was key; if he had written it ten years earlier or later, it might not have worked. It is a difficult, detective-style novel that delves into metaphysics, theology, and medieval history, yet it found a massive audience.

Ans: Eco identified himself primarily as an academic scholar. He attended academic conferences during the week and wrote novels only on Sundays. He said, "I am a university professor who writes novels on Sundays."

Ans: Kipling refused to be interviewed because he considered it "immoral." He called it a crime, just as much as an assault on a person's body. He believed no respectable man would ask for an interview, and no respectable man would give one.

Ans: Eco explains that he works in "interstices" or empty spaces in our lives. For example, while waiting for the elevator to come up from the first to the third floor, he uses that brief time to write an article. By utilizing these small gaps in time, he achieves a high output.

Ans: While celebrities like Lewis Carroll, Kipling, and H.G. Wells viewed interviews as an intrusion, a crime, or an ordeal, the text admits that the interview is a "supremely serviceable medium." Despite its drawbacks (intrusion, diminishing privacy), it remains the primary way common people get to know about famous personalities. It holds the interviewer in a position of unprecedented power, making it a "necessary evil" in modern journalism.

Ans: Most academic writing is dry and depersonalized. However, Eco adopted a narrative style. He wrote about the process of his research, including his trials and errors, making his scholarly work read like a story. This approach made his essays more engaging.

Ans: Mukund is surprised because the book deals with heavy subjects like medieval history, theology, and metaphysics. Usually, such serious books do not sell millions of copies. The fact that a "difficult" book became a mass-market bestseller was counter-intuitive to the publishing industry's norms.

Ans: Lewis Carroll (author of *Alice in Wonderland*) had a horror of being "lionized" (treated as a celebrity). He wanted to avoid the attention and fans wanting autographs, so he avoided interviews to maintain his privacy.