Dateline IFOA: Colm Toibin & Alan Hollinghurst

In some ways, this event, held Friday, October 29, was the coup of the Festival. Even though I have absolutely no doubt that the organizers suspected both authors would be hot tickets because the books already had considerable buzz earlier in the year, they couldn’t predict that one would win the Booker and the other would lose by a slim margin. Hence, the capacity-only crowd that packed the Lakeside Terrace to see the two writers interviewed by Globe & Mail Books editor Martin Levin.

All told, it was an enjoyable evening, although perhaps a bit stilted. I was actually kind of disappointed in Levin, who seemed rather nervous, not really trusting his interviewees to dictate conversation and let them guide what ought to be asked next. Which might explain why, after the umpteenth question about Henry James, Hollinghurst and eye-rolling became best buddies. Of course, Hollinghurst has had a rather eventful couple of weeks, submitting himself to 33 interviews since his Booker Prize win. When asked if he’d come up with stock answers to certain questions, he answered “yes” quite abruptly. Throughout the evening, Hollinghurst had almost an overcontrolled nervousness, like a deer caught in headlights. But after so many interviews, I do feel for the man. His life is forever changed.

Toibin, by contrast, is far more animated than his counterpart, often peppering his answers with amusing anecdotes delivered in a rolling Irish accent. When the subject turned to the new trend of teasing out the so-called gay subtext in James’ work, Toibin described how he had spent so many months immersed in the sexually repressed emotional world James inhabited in order to attempt to understand the writer. Then, one day, Toibin received a student’s dissertation in the mail about the rise of alternative gay presses. Upon reading the dissertation, Toibin realized with a shock that he “forgot he was gay,” having spent so much time alone and getting under James’ skin. Not surprisingly, the audience greeted the statement with a huge round of laughter.

The hour was mostly spent on the two writers’ different approach to James in their respective novels, but Levin did try to steer the conversation towards politics. Too bad neither writer cared to bite. Toibin further explained that he had little interest in writing polemics, choosing to illustrate all sides of a political issue in his novels, even as he continues to be very active as a liberal. Instead, the conversation turned back to research methods (the consensus: not much, really) favorite James novels, and what’s next (Hollinghurst: “I haven’t the faintest idea and frankly, I don’t much care.”)

Afterwards, the signing queue looked incredibly long, but I didn’t stick around, as I had another social engagement to attend. But I did come back the next day for a couple more events, which will be described in a later post.