“Thank you for your condolenc- es – yes, losing a dog is a huge loss. It is like losing a family member – worse in some ways, because we are always growing away from our agents, and our children are always growing away from us. But our dogs are as close to us on the last day of their life as they are on the first day.” Back to Max. You borrowed Stan from real life. How much of you is there in Wolfe? Does your daughter look like Scout? “The two characters in the Max Wolfe books who are taken from re- al life are Fred the personal train- er and Stan the dog. My daughter does look like Scout, but she is old- er – a 22-year-old student at Cam- bridge. But, in some ways, she is very much like Scout – she always buys a meal for the homeless people (using my credit card). But Scout is not her – Scout comes from my nos- talgia from my daughter being lit- tle, which I enjoyed and loved very much, and really miss her being.” And do you really drink tri- ple espresso and box? “Yes, I do box, and just came back from today’s session with Fred, who keeps me very fit and who is quite small and skinny (like Fred in the Max Wolfe books), but a bril- liant trainer. I do drink triple espres- so, but tend to drink three double espressos rather than two triple es- pressos, because often people don’t know what you are talking about when you ask for a triple espresso.” London plays a very im- portant role in your works. It's literally possible to smell the meat market, chase butterflies with Stan around the park, or im- agine how the roof of St. Paul's Cathedral shines. What would you tell our passengers when they come to your city; what shouldn’t they miss? “I would say to travellers to London that you should seek out Max Wolfe’s London – Hampstead Heath, a great wild expanse of for-
est in central London, and Bar Italia in Soho, and St Paul’s Cathedral – which Max can see from the window of his apartment - and the Smith- field meat market, and Saville Row, and the River Thames. All the land- marks in the Max Wolfe books are a good place to start. I often meet Max Wolfe readers at Bar Italia.” What is London for you? “For me, London really repre- sents home – it really is as simple as that. I love the ancient history of the place, and the knowledge that all the things that are meaningful to me will still be here long after I’m gone.” Books don't seem to be losing their magic, even with the advent of mobile phones. Do you think that literature will survive the modern age? “I think we will always have a human longing for stories. I just think that is built deep into our blood and bones and DNA; a crav- ing for stories, to make sense of our lives and the universe. That is more powerful than technology – although it is true that there are endless distractions these days, and it is harder to sit down with a book when you can look at amusing an- imals on Instagram. But books – stories – have power.” Have you read something good recently that you’d recommend? “A writer I like is Claire Keegan, who is Irish and the author of a col- lection of short stories called Ant- arctica and a novel called Small Things Like These. She writes about working class lives, the poor and uneducated, which I think is quite rare these days.” You have been coming to Belgrade for 50 years. What is the Serbian audi- ence like; are you aware of how many readers you have here? “The Serbian audience is the best! They have stuck with me from the start. That’s why I want- ed to be at the Belgrade Book Fair
Sledeć a knjiga koju ć u napisati je o mom psu Stenu, koji je preminuo u maju ove godine. Zvaće se „Čovek i pas“ The next book I am going to write is about my dog, Stan, who died in May of this year. It will be called Man & Dog
this year – because I haven’t been for a while – the pandemic got in the way of normal life – but I know and appreciate how many readers I have in Serbia. I am lucky that the books have been published so well by Laguna.” When it comes to our city, are there things that you never miss out on seeing, tasting and smelling when you come? “It is 50 years since I first came to Belgrade and, really, I am still learning about the city. On this re- cent trip, I found a great little café near the Hotel Moskva where I went for coffee every morning, and a res- taurant called Frans that I absolute- ly love and will return to on every visit – it is one of the great restau- rants of the world. With friends on this latest trip, I was exploring the riverside. Alone, and away from the Book Fair and TV studios, I like to stop talking for a few hours and wander around and get lost. That is when you discover good little shops where you can buy a few beers, or a stall that sells a great slice of pizza, or the place that sells the best ice cream. With great cities like Bel- grade or London, I don’t think you ever stop learning. I noticed a lot of changes in Belgrade on this trip, but the soul of the Serbian people remains unchanged.”
Interview » Intervju | 49
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