2008/03/01 New York
Obvious questions
Talk about yourself
In comparison to most European interviewers an American interviewer operates more like a doctor. He wants to get the information he needs and then he moves on to the next patient. It was for good reason that I was pleasantly surprised when an American interviewer recently joined me in drinking some wine during the interview.
The European interviewer (I generalize but nevertheless) would like to give you the impression that he is having a good time and he would like you to have a good time as well.
Last night I had dinner with a German journalist.
The journalist had already eaten, so he limited himself to fruit salad. (My favorite dessert)
He talked a lot about himself, which I didn’t mind at all.
I’m not sure if it was part of his strategy or he did it because he really liked the conversation.
Whatever it was it was enjoyable for me as well.
The obvious questions can get tiresome. The same can be said about the obvious answers.
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23 comments 
@Arnon
Maybe he didn't give you only the impression he had a good time, he probably did. Don't be so surprised :-). But most important important with these sort of settings is, that it was enjoyable for you too and since it was, we can only be curious about the result of the article. Without obvious questions and obvious answers, it must be (hopefully) interesting to read ;-). Where can we read it?@Arnon - p.s.
P.s.Just wondering from a professional point of view, what in your view would be the best way to interview to get the best end result? The American way or the European way of interviewing. Generally speaking of course.
presentation
Dear Arnon. I am busy preparing a presentation about you. I am going to tell Christian people about you. What do you want them to know?Nieke.
Is citrus your favorite as well?
I think pomegranate should be in the fruitsalad.
Do you like spending time cooking?
I think pomegranate should be in the fruitsalad.
Do you like spending time cooking?
Nieke
Tell the Christians to buy my books.Apostolic message
I will spread the Word.Nieke.
I just finished Tirza. It has been published in Switzerland this week.
And I'm very much impressed. I would say it's your best book so far -
but of course it lacks me some distancy right now. I didn't feel good
while reading it, and I still don't. But I guess that's not the task of
literature. Did you read Crime and Punishement before writing the book?
Grunberg
Geachte Heer Grunberg,Ik zoek al tijden naar een emailadres van u.
Ik zou u graag wat ideeen willen voorleggen.
Jawelle
Could it be that the journalist was so polite to let you enjoy your meal? Do you speak with your mouth full, so he did the most of the talking? Is it possible that the journalist felt lonely and was just in for a conversation and combinated it during working hours?
Nienke
This is hilarious. Why would you tell christians to read Grunberg? Whats the ocasion?Is it even possible to educate christians at all?
Helen
Speaking about yourself might be a matter of politeness.Lukas
I read “Crime and Punishment” a while ago, shortly after moving to New York. I didn’t think about “Crime and Punishment” while writing Tirza.This week I used this novel (“Crime and Punishment”) as an example in a small conversation about literature in translation.
joep
I think Christians can learn a lot. I am a Christian myself some times.nieke
Nieke
Are you a part-time Christian?Nieke
You sound like Tirza.crime and punishment
Go and see 'Izgnanie ' (The banishment) a filmby Andrei Zviagintsev.
Christian
Dear Arnon,. I am in doubt. I work in shifts.nieke.
margot
I like sounding like Tirza I think. Thanks!nieke
Arnon,
If speaking about yourself could be a matter of politeness, then my dentist must be a polite man. He talked half an our about himself and his problems about designing his clinic and charged me an hours consult. I mostly tell my students not to be too polite. On Mondaymornings they like to talk a lot about themselves.
If you mean it ironicly, I don’t get it because I just asked some questions. But I frequent your blog because I’m interested what you write about yourself.
If speaking about yourself could be a matter of politeness, then my dentist must be a polite man. He talked half an our about himself and his problems about designing his clinic and charged me an hours consult. I mostly tell my students not to be too polite. On Mondaymornings they like to talk a lot about themselves.
If you mean it ironicly, I don’t get it because I just asked some questions. But I frequent your blog because I’m interested what you write about yourself.
Helen
You suggested that the journalist started speaking about himself so that I could enjoy my risotto and I agreed with you: sometimes speaking about yourself is a matter of politeness.I have nothing against people speaking about themselves, as long as their stories are interesting.
This site was never meant to be confessionary and I will make sure that I’ll only confess once a month.
If you want to know more about an author the most reasonable thing to do is to read his or her books. I’m not suggesting that all my books are autobiographical, far from it, just: what else is there to know?
I remember Arnon as this (to me: rare) kind of person, who simply makes people talk a lot about themselves. When I watched that phenomenon after his "show" in germany, I thought immediately: "He´s making them all talk and talk and talk to get 'food' for his next stories!" (Of course, I don´t really think, he needs this food...)
The asylumseeker is on my pedestal cupboard. and "rond de wereld " is waiting on my shelf to be read. Tirza accompagnied me to Greece in october.
Books are my friends. I don't know if writers are.
Books are my friends. I don't know if writers are.
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