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Ian Rankin discusses his favorite authors, how he reacts to his books being described as 'Tartan Noir', and talks about how his writing style has changed over the years.
In the past, there have been all sorts
of weird coincidences in the writing of your books. Any to share with us this
time around?
What usually happens is, I write about
something, and sometime thereafter it either turns out to have been true, or it
comes true. This time, I decided to take my plots from the pages of the daily
papers. I took two real-life pedophiles as the models for characters in the
book. And found out later that if you took the first name of one and the surname
of the other, you came up with the name I sued for the bad guy in my first ever
Rebus novel....
James Ellroy called your work
"Tartan Noir"...
I suppose he was right, too. My work's
nowhere near as dark as his, but it's not in the "cozy" tradition
either. A tougher Inspector Wexford maybe. That's Rebus.
Who are your favorite authors?
James Ellroy; Lawrence Block; Ruth Rendell. Novelists
with psychological depth, with 3-D characterizations, writers who challenge
convention and style. So stick Michael Connelly in there, too… and Paco Taibo,
Marc Behm, James Sallis, SJ Rozan….
What would you say is your special flair in writing?
How has your talent changed through the years?
My later books are a lot longer/denser/more complex
than the earlier ones, blending three or four plots, challenging the reader. I
want to explain Scotland to myself, to fellow Scots and to the outside world. So
far, I'm not sure I've done more than scratch the surface of this bizarre,
mixed-up country… but I'll keep trying.
Final question. Is it true you've spent a lot of
time in the States?
Back in 1992 I won the Chandler-Fulbright Prize. They
gave me twenty thousand dollars and a return transatlantic flight and told me to
go find out about the USA. I came, stayed six months. loved the trip. I was with
my wife and our first child, Jack, who was 3 months old on arrival. We bought an
old VW camper and toured, covering around 20,000 miles, staying with friends and
in old motels. Saw sights, and each day thanked the estate of Raymond Chandler,
whose money was paying for this most amazing experience.
Unless otherwise stated, this interview was conducted at the time the book was first published, and is reproduced with permission of the publisher. This interview may not be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the copyright holder.
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