The Colombian novelist Tomas Gonzalez has been writing for three decades, but has only been read this year by an English-speaking audience after his debut,
In the Beginning Was the Sea, was published by the wonderful Pushkin Press.
----more----
Terse but lyrical, the novel was inspired by the murder of his brother Juan, who had swapped fast-living in Bogota for a dream of rural self-sufficiency on the Colombian coast. Juan, or J in the novel, was killed by a man he hired to manage the farm he shared with his girlfriend, Elena. The novel was Gonzalez's attempt to understand what happened and ponder its meaning against a larger universe at once beautiful, terrifying and indifferent to the human drama.
We met in the slightly downbeat bar of Gonzalez's Kings Cross hotel. It was a peculiar venue to discuss matters at once melancholy and inspirational. We were interrupted, variously, by a loud fan, a woman filling a metal dog bowl full of food, the ensuing dog skittering on its claws towards its lunch, several workmen and a chatty receptionist. Enjoy the atmosphere.
In part one we covered:
- how to discuss debut novels that are 30 years old
- the true story behind the novel
- dreams of escape and escaping the rat race
- the murder of Gonzalez's brother Juan
- Gonzalez's encounter with his brother's murderer
- revenge, violence and art
- why he wrote the novel
- the challenge of turning real-life tragedy into art
- the lure of escape and escapism
- ideas of success
- how Gonzalez wrote the novel
- Gonzalez the barman and making writing pay
- drinking and literature
- moving to Miami
My review of In the Beginning was the Sea in the Independent is: here.