Tom McCarthy is an English writer and artist. His debut novel, Remainder, was published in 2005. McCarthy has twice been nominated for the Man Booker Prize.
This is a snippet of an interview I did with him back in August 2008.
What's your ideal night out/in?
I once woke up to find, on my coffee table, a pair of skimpy knickers, white powder residue and an open copy of Francis Ponge's 'La Partie Pris des Choses'. I can't remember what I'd done the night before - but whatever it was, that's my perfect night.
When did you start writing?
When I was very young. My mother told me the story of Macbeth and I thought: that's great, I'll write it. So I borrowed a neighbour's typewriter and wrote 'Macbeth, by Tom McCarthy'. The neighbour said: 'Shouldn't it be 'by William Shakespeare?' and I asked: 'Why?' I was right. Someone wrote Macbeth before Shakespeare too. I don't think I finished my version; somewhere around Act II I went and played outside instead.
How did you feel about Metronome's response to Waterstones to stock Reminder that, "If people want it, they can go to the ICA."
Metronome Press was an art project, run by two curators, launched firmly from within the art world and its networks. Having one foot in that world myself, I'd noticed that that was the environment in which people actually read proper literature rather than the latest Booker/Richard-and-Judy crap. So I was happy for them to take that stance. Perhaps at the time I wasn't, but in retrospect I thought it was pretty cool; and as it worked out, bigger publishers would bring out their own editions of Remainder later and put them in Waterstones and every other shop. The Metronome edition was just a limited run thing anyway.
The title of the book "Remainder" is the same term used for books returned by retailers that are not sold. Was this an intentional joke on your behalf and how confident were you that the book would sell?
I was aware of the bookselling connotation of the term 'remainder', and liked it, but it wasn't the main one. I was thinking mainly of residues, marks, traces, things left behind; also the half in the eight-and-a-half million pound settlement the hero receives. I had no idea if the book would sell a lot or not; the question didn't cross my mind. What interested me was the kind of critical response it would get.
What advice would you give fellow writers?
Read voraciously, and don't go anywhere near a 'creative writing' class.