 |
| Neil Gaiman |
Neil Gaiman: ‘In your 60s, any sex is good sex. It’s like: Oh my gosh, I can still do this thing’
Born in Portchester, Hampshire, Neil Gaiman, 62, started out as a journalist. In the 1980s, he wrote the Sandman comic-book series, which became a multimillion-selling graphic novel, and was adapted for Netflix last year. His books Coraline and Stardust have become films, and Neverwhere, American Gods and Good Omens are TV series. His latest book, What You Need to Be Warm, which supports the work of UNHCR, is released on 26 October. Gaiman lives in Woodstock, New York.
What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
Laziness.
What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Bullying.
What was your most embarrassing moment?
The idiocy of going to Skye from New Zealand in April 2020. All of a sudden, I’m turning on the news and hearing myself as an item. I have never been more mortified.
Describe yourself in three words
Imaginative, dull, amiable.
What would your superpower be?
The ability to make time stretchy. I am forever frustrated at the small amount that you can get done in the hours given.
What do you most dislike about your appearance?
As I age, I’m turning into a Spitting Image of myself. I have a face like an unmade bed.
What is your most unappealing habit?
I am a complete flake and I forget things; and I can get very grumpy and blame other people for me having forgotten something.
What scares you about getting older?
Mostly the pain. I don’t want to be trapped in a body that hurts.
Which book are you ashamed not to have read?
I’ve never read Proust.
What was the last lie you told?
I don’t tell lies any more, because my memory is going.
What is your guiltiest pleasure?
Really fancy sushi.
To whom would you most like to say sorry, and why?
My soon-to-be ex-wife, Amanda. I wish I’d been able to do whatever would have been necessary all the way back to keep us as a unit. Probably the worst thing I did was not tell her how miserable I was, certain that I could turn this around somehow.
Which living person do you most despise, and why?
It’s a toss-up between Elon Musk and Rupert Murdoch, but Murdoch’s had so much longer to be awful.
What is the worst job you’ve done?
The only job I quit was, aged about 23, subediting a “men’s” magazine. My job was typing out readers’ pornographic fantasies. I started wishing people would reproduce by splitting down the middle.
How often do you have sex?
The nice thing about being in your 60s is any sex is good sex – whenever you have sex it’s like, “Great, oh my gosh, I can still do this thing.”
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
My kids, and getting some of the stories I had in my head on to paper in a way that wasn’t too far removed from the thing I dreamed about writing.
Would you rather have more sex, money or fame?
I would love less fame. I would love to not be face-famous.
How would you like to be remembered?
As someone who left the world slightly more interesting than he found it.
What happens when we die?
I like the idea of being atoms that other people can breathe in, and fabulous worm food.
DRAGON
My hero / Gene Wolf by Neil Gaiman
My hero / Mary Shelley by Neil Gaiman
A life in writing / Neil Gaiman / ‘I like being British’
Neil Gaiman, Joyce Carol Oates and more on Kazuo Ishiguro's Nobel win
In conversación / Neil Gaiman talks to Shaun Tan
Neil Gaiman / A man who won't forget Ray Bradbury
Books that made me / Neil Gaiman / 'Narnia made me want to write, to do that magic trick'
Neil Gaiman / Fortunately, the Milk / Review
Neil Gaiman / How To Read Gene Wolfe
Our 2020 in Books / Sam Cohen
All Advice Is Bad
No comments:
Post a Comment