If you like Maxim Biller, you probably would like Robert Crumb too. If I stayed in the USA, I would certainly like to visit him – he plays some nice music too.
http://www.crumbproducts.com/

By the way, it was nice to see your Uruzgan story published in Humo. My mother also likes the article and your columns too, although she does not read novels (“Arnon Grunberg, is he a novelist? What a pity and a waist of talent” she says…)

Crumb

Jan Thys,

Robert Crumb lives in France, if you want to buy some of his originals, just contact him.

Pim

Although it is often a very good choice to be polite, if you cannot express your honest feelings you should question yourself: is it worth being here. Except offcourse when you have something to gain.

On the other hand, it is not wrong to serve someone else beside yourself now and then. It can be quite liberating!

@Pim Heijselaar
Crumb lives now in France I forgot, indeed, thank you. I visited his exhibition in Rotterdam in 2005.

Crumb

From a NY Times article:
But since the Crumbs' arrival, many of the achingly quaint, empty stone houses have attracted other newcomers. One of the first was Ms. Crumb's brother, Alex Goldsmith, who lives in the lower ramparts of the Crumb home. Mr. Goldsmith, 54, said he had fought drug addiction, and if his sister had not welcomed him to France, ''I'd probably be in prison, if I was alive.''
He earns money buying used R. Crumb comics on eBay, taking them upstairs for Mr. Crumb to sign and reselling them ''for quadruple'' on the Internet, Mr. Goldsmith said, smiling.

More, and also great sketch book pages on one of my older blog posts:
http://www.duvekot.ca/eliane/archives/001367.html

@Eliane Duvekot
Great stuff ,the postcards too. (‘Duvekot’ is a very particular name in Flemish, never heard it before).

@ Jan Thys

The name isn't Flemish, it is Zeeuws. In Zeeland it is a fairly well known name.

Freek

There is a case to be made for politeness, but that does not mean that the politeness should be limitless.
This was a public conversation, had it been an interview for a newspaper I would have reacted differently, also in that case the conversation would not have been disrupted by Mr. Biller reading his stories, which was by the way entertaining.
If you agree to a certain format, you are bound by the format. There is nothing worse than a moderator who thinks the evening is about him, or is obnoxiously trying to make a point.

Jan Thys and others

Wasn’t there a cult movie about Crumb a while ago? For some reason I could not set myself to watch the movie. And what exactly have Mr. Crumb and Mr. Biller in common? This is not a rhetorical question.

Jan T

Maybe you should send your mother my collection of essays? Or my Technique of Suffering?
Or do you think she would find these books a waste of talent as well?

Arnon

Politeness is limitless until the reaction of the person you are offering it.

I think that with public conversations a progressive approach approached politely can sometimes be more rewarding than a polite approach.
But only if the moderator knows the subject of discussing very well and offcourse sticks to it. You are right to say that moderators who place themselves in the spotlight are very annoying. People tend to go to public converstations in hope to find some insight or even answers about the material (books, movies, music) crafted by the person being interviewed.
The moderator should also be searching for these things.

Jan

My mother is very fond of Arnon's columns in the VPRO-gids ("Yasha"). Have you considered getting your mother a subscription to this Dutch TV guide?

Arnon

I am quite overwhelmed by your tone of voice in your answer to Freek. Love it, that is and there is no irony involved here either.

Polite

There are three plumbers in my bathroom. They’ve been in there for nearly two hours, trying to fix the drain of my bathtub. The problem appears to be a large hairball.
I’m experiencing a slight existential crisis because I have to go to the bathroom. I would just go, but the idea of having an audience of three plumbers in my living room waiting for me to finish my duties frightens me.
I'm afraid that this situation may turn into a duel between my bladder and politeness.

Arnon, do you respect Biller's work and accomplishments? If yes, then the non-ego motivated approach in my opinion is to be polite and courteous (even when writing about his work after the fact).

Oscar

I'd say let the bladder win.

Freek

I assume you were not one of the visitors at the Goethe Institute in New York last night and for that reason there is the risk that this discussion will become too abstract. One could question the merits of any interview with a public persona, but that’s another discussion. Mr. Biller had asked me to host the conversation last night, I agreed and I don’t think it was my job to point out certain contradictions in what Maxim Biller had to say. The audience has brains too. The framework of the evening limited both moderator and author. I’m not sure what you mean with: ‘a progressive approach approached politely can sometimes be more rewarding than a polite approach,’ but generally spoken I wholeheartedly agree with your remarks. It’s for good reasons that I prefer movies to literary evenings, but I respect people who have other preferences. I don’t want to offend German ladies who pay ten euros to listen me, and there is no irony involved here. It’s much too easy for an author to disrespect certain readers, or let me phrase it differently, to disrespect certain habits of certain readers.

Oscar W

This reminds me of one of my stories in Amuse Gueule.
This ball of hair, excuse me for asking, but did it happen to be Laura's ball of hair? If so could you send it to Johannes?

diplomatics

as far as i understood, this happening was meant to promote this fellow´s works,
you couldn´t do diffrent than sometimes be ´too polite´. you agreed to be ´on his side´, it´s not ubnormal that you feel the way you feel right now (well, probably not anymore, ´now´ is past time already) , i think...

Noa

If I had not respected Biller’s work I would not have accepted his invitation.

Arnon

I can assure you that it's very unlikely that any of the plumbers were familiar with your short story.
Did this story involve pliers? I went to a performance in Nijmegen many years ago where you read a story which, if I remember correctly, involved an ambassador, a toilet and pliers. You nearly cracked up reading the story.
I have suggested that Laura's hair was to blame for the bathroom blockage. Laura denies this but claims that her hair is her most striking feature.

@Arnon
@ Oscar Wilde
As I said before, my mother hates novels, for some dark reasons, BUT she loves the columns, articles and essays. I think she would prefer to see Arnon as a full time journalist, even as a politician. She has outspoken expectations for everybody she knows.
The music of Maxim Biller made me think of Robert Crumb’s music, but then my associations are sometimes a bit weird too, nevertheless I think he is a great and interesting artist.

R. Crumb - cult movie

@Arnon
About the cult movie, if you mean ‘Fritz the Cat’, I did not like the movie adaptation that much. The documentary ‘Crumb’ is far more interesting.

Habits of readers

@Arnon, what habits for example? Is putting personal comments on your site one of them or is this a readers' habit you can appreciate?

How can I comment on 19:28 regarding Arnon’s answer seemingly posted on 23:43?
I think there’s a technical problem here, cause otherwise I would appear to be psychic.

Oscar W

Yes, I meant the story about among other things a pair of pliers.

Noa

I think you misunderstood me, I tried to say that even though some habits might not exactly be my own habits, I have no strong opinions about them.

Ilanit

I deleted a typo in my comment. That's the explanation.

Arnon

It's all coming back to me now. I believe that the story also involved the sleeve of your white shirt.

Oscar

Exactly, do you have this collection of short stories? Otherwise Johannes can send it to you.
Could you send me a picture of Laura?
Early think morning I woke up and I had the terrible thought that Laura does not exist, but that you become Laura on certain days, like on Halloween and Christmas Eve.

Arnon

I would love to get another book from Johannes, but I must admit that I have a copy of Amuse Guelle.
Laura and I have been talking about taking a picture of her in front of the bakery that you go to with your Godson. Laura is disappointed because we decided not to go to the parade this morning but the weather turned out nice.

Arnon

I would love to get another book from Johannes, but I must admit that I have a copy of Amuse Guelle.
Laura and I have been talking about taking a picture of her in front of the bakery that you go to with your Godson. Laura is disappointed because we decided not to go to the parade this morning but the weather turned out nice.

Arnon

Was your early-morning thought by any chance related to the name of your new publishing house?

Oscar W

The name of this publishing house does exist already since a long time. I believe since 2005.
Any other books I could send you?
The weather is delightful today.

Arnon

I have asked St Nicholas for a copy of "Because I desire you". I must confess that there are few things that I like better than receiving a book in the mail. I thus welcome any book that you recommend.
Laura is a little obsessed about the fact that someone questioned her existence on Thanksgiving.

Arnon

I was indeed not present at the Goethe Institute in New York, but speaking in a more general way.

"a progressive approach approached politely can sometimes be more rewarding than a polite approach" means just that. :-)
Politeness used in combo with good on subject and in depth questions.
People keep it safe a lot, affraid to fail themselves or the audience.
One should never be affraid to fail. In my opinion. But i'm getting to abstract again. :-)

You wrote: "It’s much too easy for an author to disrespect certain readers, or let me phrase it differently, to disrespect certain habits of certain readers. "
I don't know what you mean by that... ?

About preffering movies above literature evenings:
One movie I can recommend you: The Assasination Of Richard Nixon, with Seann Penn as lead. Do expext to feel very depressed at the end though. But it is worth it.

Freek

I’m afraid we are exchanging platitudes here.
We agree it would be preferable for the interviewer to know as much about his subject as possible.
All I was saying is that a public interview at a literary soiree serves another purpose than an interview that is going to be printed in a newspaper.
To acknowledge this is as far as I’m concerned a matter of (among other things) politeness.
As to my sentence about the habits of certain readers I’m not sure what is not clear in this sentence.
But I’ll will rephrase it for you: épater the women (and men) who come to listen to an author is maybe just a tad too easy.

Arnon

I agree with you.

It is clear to me now, thanx!