Q. So is your work getting better?
A. The more you practice the better you get. I’ve been writing for more than 50 years, so inevitably I get a bit better. But you have to beware of facility. The danger is that you’ll say any old thing. Nothing good was ever easily got.
Q. How electronic are you? Do you own a Kindle?
A. I don’t own a Kindle, no. I love books, they are beautiful objects. I’m leaving for a trip to Italy now, and I have four huge doorstoppers in my suitcase. I can’t be without them. I’m a print man. I grew up writing with a fountain pen. I’m barely computer literate. I use the computer as a glorified typewriter. I don’t know what the computer can do. Every now and then I hit a button and weird stuff comes up, for instance the type will change color. But I am addicted to e-mail. I hate weekends. Nobody ever writes to me on the weekend.
Thank you Kendall for posting this because it got a laugh out of me on a grey gloomy afternoon here in London. Asked about his book sales, John Banville replies: I never check those figures. It’s like looking at your bank balance. You’re always shocked and disappointed afterward.
It is a lovely interview. I especially enjoyed the comment about email in addition to the one you quoted which is priceless.