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Written by Joe Reed
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 What impresses most on hearing Will Self talk for an hour is the man’s ability to maintain his sardonic verbosity at all times. The North London writer is in Edinburgh promoting his new novel the Butt. And he accompanies a twenty minute reading from his new work, with a strikingly wide-ranging question and answer session, never missing a beat.
Self has a writing style immediately recognizable, if not universally agreeable. Visceral, and often gleefully grimy, the Butt sees him building his characters from flaking skin, scars, and, just occasionally, itchily desirable flesh.
At its worst Self’s writing is reminiscent of 70s cuisine; over flavoured, crowded and needlessly adorned. Yet such an approach, if sapping at times, can often result in turns of phrase which bury themselves in the memory. A description of a hand “caricatured by arthritis,” for example, does much to atone for an otherwise overzealous examination of an elderly character.
Reading his own work Self is an accomplished performer. Indulging the audience by taking on a voice for each character, it’s interesting to hear his voice flex over his own prose, and, as is always the case, a great pleasure to be read to by someone with such impeccable delivery.
The question section provides some of the more fascinating moments of the hour. Self, in accordance with his haughty persona, spars with the audience, dividing the crowd into groups; happy, sad, stupid, clever, faithful and godless. A no subjects barred introduction by the writer, results in questions on religion, heroin addiction (Self used to be an addict), and the ageing process. On the latter it’s surprising to hear Self talk a little disdainfully about Hunter S Thompson’s failure to come to terms with getting older.
Perhaps most interesting of all are Self’s observations on the writing process. He describes a literary lifestyle as highly disciplined; “a corporate culture of one”, setting off into a witty and sustained description of himself as a lone office worker. Creative writing courses, however, are tentatively brushed aside, with the argument that writing is (or should be) self taught.
It’s very easy to look intellectual when paired with a drunken Johnny Vegas. However Self has the capacity to prove himself the real deal. Talking to the crowd he is funny, stimulating and formidably sharp. Few writers could have offered a more pleasant hour.
- Will Self
- Edinburgh International Book Festival
- 24th August
- 13:30
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