Uploaded May 2023 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Conversation begins at 9:05
With his fantastic new novel, GONE TO THE WOLVES (FSG, bookshop.org/a/4669/9780374603335), John Wray (http://www.johnwray.net) explores the metal scene of the 1990s, from Gulf Coast Florida to LA to the wilds of Norway. We get into his history with metal (starting with AC/DC), why he wanted his lead characters to be fans with no aspirations to be musicians themselves, the coolness fallacy of authors writing about rock music, the brief era where a band like Cannibal Corpse (http://www.cannibalcorpse.net) could sell hundreds of thousands of records, and why this was his most fun book to write. We also talk about the theology of Norwegian black metal, this book's relationship to Denis Johnson's Tree of Smoke (bookshop.org/a/4669/9780312427740), his favorite drummer, and how he settled into Graham Greene's writing practice of having a word count for each day. Plus, we discuss his recurring neurotic breakdown when a book is in galleys, his realization that his parents did not take his writing seriously (when he was an 8th grader), the process of renovating a brownstone in Prospect Park and renting out rooms to other writers (like Nathan Englander, chimeraobscura.com/vm/episode-313-nathan-englander), becoming a dad in recent years (and failing to teach his son how to fly a kite), the tension between writing the books he wants to write and selling more copies, the risk of getting sued by Vince Neil, and a lot more. Follow John on Twitter (twitter.com/John_Wray) and Instagram (instagram.com/thejohnwray/) • More info at chimeraobscura.com/vm/episode-537-john-wray • Support The Virtual Memories Show via patreon.com/vmspod and via our newsletter, https://buttondown.email/vmspod
Conversation begins at 9:05
With his fantastic new novel, GONE TO THE WOLVES (FSG, bookshop.org/a/4669/9780374603335), John Wray (http://www.johnwray.net) explores the metal scene of the 1990s, from Gulf Coast Florida to LA to the wilds of Norway. We get into his history with metal (starting with AC/DC), why he wanted his lead characters to be fans with no aspirations to be musicians themselves, the coolness fallacy of authors writing about rock music, the brief era where a band like Cannibal Corpse (http://www.cannibalcorpse.net) could sell hundreds of thousands of records, and why this was his most fun book to write. We also talk about the theology of Norwegian black metal, this book's relationship to Denis Johnson's Tree of Smoke (bookshop.org/a/4669/9780312427740), his favorite drummer, and how he settled into Graham Greene's writing practice of having a word count for each day. Plus, we discuss his recurring neurotic breakdown when a book is in galleys, his realization that his parents did not take his writing seriously (when he was an 8th grader), the process of renovating a brownstone in Prospect Park and renting out rooms to other writers (like Nathan Englander, chimeraobscura.com/vm/episode-313-nathan-englander), becoming a dad in recent years (and failing to teach his son how to fly a kite), the tension between writing the books he wants to write and selling more copies, the risk of getting sued by Vince Neil, and a lot more. Follow John on Twitter (twitter.com/John_Wray) and Instagram (instagram.com/thejohnwray/) • More info at chimeraobscura.com/vm/episode-537-john-wray • Support The Virtual Memories Show via patreon.com/vmspod and via our newsletter, https://buttondown.email/vmspod
