Joseph O’Neill is an Irish born writer. His latest novel is “The Dog.”
The author says he usually reads the paper online, which, he explains, means he reads it “erratically and with that special online stupidity, easily agitated and easily bored.”
He says that “the paper paper, on the other hand, soothes me and these days feels slightly alien–as if as I’m being told, with mild but inextinguishable curiosity, about a nearby, slightly horrifying planet.”
Republicans. Victorious all over the front page. What do you think?
I’m reminded of Yeats’ famous lines, ‘The best lack all conviction, while the worst/Are full of passionate intensity.’ Then again, a couple of hours I recently spent at a pre-school also put me in mind of those lines.
What on the front page did you find scariest? Most hopeful?
All of the front page is scary, even the Harry Winston ad for Rare Jewels of the World. Things don’t get much better as you turn the pages of section A, which I assume stands for ‘Apocalypse.’ The only good news is in section C. According to the review of the (I’m assuming documentary) film ‘Interstellar,’ a team of astronauts has headed into the stars to find a new planet for humanity. There’s a chink of light, right there.
Election news aside there are lots of disturbing stories in today’s paper: Christians tortured and burned in Pakistan. Students abducted in Mexico. Report finds Israel shows callous Indifference in Gaza. Did you find any good news in the paper?
I was delighted by the piece about Hamilton Academical, one my favorite Scottish football teams, because they sound so educated. I’m also a fan of Lokomotiv Plovdiv, a very industrious-sounding club from Bulgaria. I’d love to read more about Plovdiv generally.
What is your favorite section?
I’m going to give a shout out to Sunday Books.
Do you read editorial page? Do editorials ever change your mind?
Yes, I read it sometimes, but mainly in order to fortify my prejudices. Paul Krugman repeatedly pushes at my open door.
What story did you find most shocking in today’s paper. Why?
I must confess, as a US citizen of recent vintage, that the primitive and fearful disposition of the American electorate shocks me again and again.
Arts and Dining? Anything of particular interest to you in either section?
I’m not really an Arts or Dining sort of person. I like to stay in, loaf around, see what’s in the fridge. I don’t think the Times has a section aimed at that demographic yet.
Do you read the Business section. Any thing in today’s Business Day of special interest?
I always read the Business section. It’s full of real information, and also it’s where my kind of novelistic stuff might be found. The 30-minute Interview is a great resource of business-speak. Today’s interview offers a great example of rhetorical self-interrogation: ‘Will we be thousands of agents? Absolutely not.’
Anything in today’s paper that made you laugh?
No, unfortunately there isn’t. I found it a pretty depressing read, to be honest. Is it always this bad?