Interview with China Mieville

Q: Tolkien -- Middle Earth meets Middle England: This article did not sit well with many readers, many of whom claim that you came out as pompous in that text. Some wonder how you could make such claims about Tolkien's writing and the clichés it has spawned, while Michael Moorcock's novels suffer from the very same issues. What would you respond to such postulations?

You're right, plenty of people hated that article (which had a life of its own that startled me - that's the internet effect. It was written, don't forget, intended as a humorous polemical critique for a relatively small audience) and there are at least two reasons. One is that they disagree: the other is that they didn't like the tone. Of course I don't like it if people think I'm pompous, partly just because I don't relish that idea, and partly because it can mean that the actual arguments don't even get addressed. If people ever do want to argue about it, I think it's very important to establish which of those two criticisms - or both - is being levelled. To criticise the piece on grounds of pomposity, for example, because someone disagrees with the specific claims, which has sometimes happened, seems to me something of a category error.

But in fact I prefer not to rehash that ground. I've said my piece, my opinions haven't changed and they're very easy to find, but I also blush rather at some of my earlier formulations and think that my critique of Tolkien is neither new nor particularly interesting, and there's not much point reiterating it, so (for reasons similar to those in my answer to question 9), I don't like going over that - I've already done so far too many times. It's hardly radical to criticise him these days.

Much more interesting to me recently is the question of which elements of Tolkien's work, criticisms notwithstanding, I admire and/or find interesting: his obsessiveness; his tragedianism; his pathological relationship to war; and above all his hostility to allegory. These seem to me very fecund areas for consideration, even perhaps inspiration.

(One thing I would add parenthetically is that I don't understand the point about Moorcock, whose novels seem to me predicated on extremely different moral, political and aesthetic foundations than Tolkien's. Apologies for not understanding.)

Q: Anything you wish to add?

Only, I guess, that if anything I'm more nervous about people's responses to the illustrations even than the text of ULD, because I've had books published before, but never put art out there in the same way. I would hate it if people thought it was a vanity project and that the pictures massively detracted from the book - I want to stress that I never insisted my illustrations be used in the book. I hope people like them, but if not, I hope they don't think they're lamentable.

Q: Many thanks again for accepting to do this interview. I wish you continued success with your writing career and best of luck for the release of UN LUN DUN.

Thanks very much, Patrick!

C.

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Interview by Patrick
fantasyhotlist.blogspot