By MaryAnne Kolton
Sly, profane, charming, alcoholic, sensitive, lonely, handsome,
addicted to drugs, ballsy, well read, wry, nasty, self-deprecating, savvy,
vicious, darkly humorous, vulnerable, cunning, insecure, emotionally damaged, loves
his music, melancholy, short-tempered, bookstore lover.
Jack Taylor or Ken
Bruen?
Do you always tell the truth?
Of
course, but bearing in mind Tom Waits dictate
...............Do
I tell you the truth or just string you along?
And of
course, never allow a little thing like the truth to ruin a good yarn.
Sean
Connery said...........tell them the truth and then it’s their problem.
Now
take all the above, add a large dose of incredulity and stir.
I’ve
always been a fine ...........stirrer, vital if you intend to write.
There
is a rumor making the rounds that one of your ribs was surgically removed, and
from this rib Jack Taylor was created.
What are the similarities between you and Jack?
I’m laughing at the
notion, great idea.
Jack is based partly on
my brother Noel, who was found dead , a homeless alcoholic, in the Australian
outback.
Does alcoholism run in
our family?
It gallops.
I wanted a character who
had my fascination with books, who showed the horror of booze and unlike the
other stereotype, did not love ‘His Mammy’
Jack says
‘My mother is a walking
bitch’
Jack is the road I might
have traveled if I’d another lifetime to squander.
He has alas, my short
temper, and love of hurling.
