FAQs:
-Uma Uma, level with us, what the Bono is "YKY2.0" about??
-I wish I knew, mate.
-Why is it dated 2008?
-Because 2008, as any Westerner who hasn't been polluted by Simon Cowell knows, is the year our casino banking-based system came to crash. "2008" should automatically ring alarm bells in everyone's mind and since the book is about the last heady days of the Celtic Tiger (it could have easily been titled "Dance On The Volcano"), it -Oops! I've already said too much! ...It's up to you to find out for yourself, I guess.
Oh, and the fact that the past is easier to apprehend, hindsight being such a wonderful thing.
-Is the Lily character based on anyone?
-No, its earliest incarnation probably was... "Frasier". I am a huge fan of "Frasier"'s and once wrote a scenario taking the character in a seriously different direction. But, for this one (i.e. "YKY2.0"), I needed someone who would be out and about town where she would deal with celebrities and rich people. Plus there was this excellent radio in Dublin ('might as well name it, it's NewsTalk) I used to listen to; they had some dead nice reporters including a couple of twin sisters. No, if anything, you could argue that there's a lot of me in Lily. Hey! It's as Flaubert said of Mme Bovary: "Emma, c'est moi."
-Is the JohnnyRay character based on Geldof?
-Ha! I see where you're coming from, what with the opening remark from his daughter... Nope. No it isn't; I don't know much about the man, it's not "about" Gavin Friday either. Hey! It's as Flaubert said of (etc.)
-You seem to like Anna Faris...
-...Yes. I love her porcelain skin, her voice drives me crazy (Winona Ryder's as well, actually), she comes across as a genuine nice girl. Butseriouslythough. I always thought that it takes special talent to "do" comedy well and it seems to me she pulls it off effortlessly. I certainly think young miss Faris is a very talented actress, yes.
-You don't seem to like the Spice Girls very much...
-No.
-Why's that, if I may ask?
-You may. Because they're shite.
-Ah. And er, oh yes, will there be a sequel to Lily's -naturally fascinating- adventures?
-'Don't know. Probably not. She wouldn't be half as funny and endearing as a mature character. Or else, I would have to resurrect her with the same characteristics and then the whole thing would/might come across as something of a repeat. I would hate to sound like a one-trick pony. But then one never knows, never say never, etc. Would (hypothetical) readers take to her and (improbably) call for her return, there could be a Dublin tourism boosting TV series in the offing, the (self-deluded) thought has crossed my mind, yes...
-Are you working on something else?
-I certainly am. Various projects, in fact. One of them is another Dublin-based comedy that may or not may not feature Roy Keane, Sinead o'Connor, Eric Cantona and Bertie Aherne. The other is simply genius ...but I can't reveal too much at this stage except it will take me a lot of work to complete.
-Tell us more oh tell us more! Gizzas a clue!
-Well well well... it may just appeal to indie rock lovers... I think they might have a chuckle or ten going through it. In any case, just like "YKY2.0", it will consist of a little game played with them, an opportunity for them to play their part and contribute. A book is a two-way street, you know. It's not an author doing all the work and an audience passively receiving the text, oh no. The author continually drops hints and leaves clues / references for the reader to pick up. We live in such a culture-saturated world, full to the brim with pointers to movies, rock songs, historical events, TV programmes, celebrities, brands, slogans etc..
-I thought that "KYK2.0" was exhausting.
-It certainly is. Modern life is exhausting. Our attention is constantly sollicited by all sorts of pressing, would-be important, flashy, noisy, strident, unwanted, irrelevant interpellations (that, more often than not, consist of one single message: "Give me your money, sucker"). I once got started on a project that detailed, without any alternative viewpoint or reassuring step back, the subjective descent into stupefied brain death of a character watching TV non-stop over the course of a day (or a weekend, whatever). I wanted to convey the manic relentless avalanche of utter crap -most of it of a commercial nature- that assaults us when we find ourselves seated in front of the telly. ...I don't spend a lot of time watching TV.
-Sounds like your project got recycled somewhere in "YKY2.0"...
-It certainly was.
-Me mate went to Dublin once and told me he didn't see no sheeps or cows grazing in the streets -So what was your riff about then??
-Your mate is right. Gondolas don't fly off into the sunset either.
-And what about the screwdriver wielding tramps patrolling the cash-points! Isn't it, like, completely disrespeckful and totally offensivistic? I've got a good mind to go and post a strongly-worded message onto a "Garudian" comments board! Where did you last witness that happening? Huh??
-Never. It's called a work of fiction, see?
-Are you telling us that "by the Bono" is a complete invention?
-Yes.
-Are you telling us that literary evenings at the National Library don't end up in riotous free-for-alls?
-Yes.
-And that tax evading businessmen don't do shady deals on the back of decent hard-working folks?
-Er... Let me get back to you on this one.
-Why are you so obsessed with Dublin? 'Can't think of a better subject?
-Well, for one thing I met some of my very best friends there; secondly, this is where I was given another stab at this "living" thing. You tend not to forget these details, you know...
-I was a bit taken aback by the confusion of genres.
-So you should be. Laugh if you will but "YKY2.0" is an ambitious project firing on as many cylinders as possible. it's a mixed bag (some would call it a dog's breakfast but hey). I consistently tried to inject humour in sad / emotional scenes ...and tragic touches in comedy scenes (so as to add complexity and depth, at least that was the intention). Remember what comedy deals with... It is in fact tragedy: it is about how we deal with hardships and defuse crisis.
-What are your feelings about Lily? You seem ambivalent...
-Oh I'm very fond of her, she's a feisty combative character. She gets knocked down and picks herself up on a regular basis, goes back on the offensive. She could have been a rich kid; instead, she went and set out to do her own thing, trying to make it on her own terms. Her character went through verious versions; at times, I accentuated the pratfall element -it's a comedy after all- at times I laid on the violins -remember that the premise was of the "chicklit" category. There had to be an element of adventure (albeit a safe, sheltered one), there had to be a political / financial dimentions (which I then spent a lot time rubbing out / toning down as I didn't want the whole thing to end up reading like a pamphlet!). Lily's excitable (which is a good thing in my book), and endearing, and naive, and an inveterate day-dreamer -a tendency that can only be exacerbated by the narcotic power of suggestion of television. Basically, she encounters life in its challenging difficulty, it's a BildungsRoman. She has to grow up, and along the way must question her own motives, her own "Mission Statement". She has to find a Modus Vivendi that won't betray her principles and naturally generous tendencies. ...Now whether she manages or not is up for the reader to decide.
-Whatever happened to her Ma?
-We don't know. I don't believe in giving all the answers. I could very well have done in a Shakespearean kind of way and sewn up the book in nice little ribbons but I chose not to. You have to leave space for readers to fill in and offer their own suggestions / conclusions. Just like with Timothy at the end, I am dropping a massive hint there, lifted straight out of "********"but I'm being a tease, I won't say more on this subject. More seriously, the question of the mother's whereabouts is an integral part of the story. Her absence creates the kind of emotional vacuum and personal fortitude that fuel Lily's efforts and antics. I won't reveal any more on that, you go and think this over!
-So, did Roy Keane let his country down or not?
-He did not. Every claim the boy Roy made at the time re. the organisation -or lack of- was subsequently validated, it's just very sad it had to kick off this way. Now I can't possibly comment on the manager situation, that's another subject altogether which I wouldn't dare pronounce upon. Bear this in mind, though: Michael Laudrup fell out with his national manager, Johan Cruyff fell out with his national manager, Gabriel Batistuta fell out with this national manager, etc. These things happen, and they're highly personal.
-Why, thank you Uma for these -like- penetrating remarks yeah!
-Don't mention it, Uma.
