April 10, 2006
And now, novelist Craig Ferguson
April 10, 2006
Today, the first novel by late-night talk show host Craig Ferguson hits the bookstores. It's called Between the Bridge and the River, and this piece by the NYT's Jacques Steinberg says it's a novel with plenty of grounding in works by writers such as Mikhail Bulgakov, whose The Master and Margarita is one of my favorite novels.
Ferguson plugged the book on his show the other night, and it got me to thinking about how few actors there are in the American entertainment industry who could pull something like that off. Ethan Hawke has written some literary fiction, and Steve Martin has authored novellas and a couple popular plays. Fannie Flagg, too, found a fulfilling calling as a writer of Southern genre fiction such as Fried Green Tomatoes.
But aside from those examples and the children's book thing that many entertainers have done, what Ferguson has accomplished is rather unusual. Maybe there's something basic about British culture (Ferguson's a Scot) that leads them to hold the literary life more dear: Simon Callow, a terrific actor, is also a fine writer and has done a good bio of Orson Welles. Michael Palin of Monty Python fame has written fine travelogues and novels.
I can't really see his three colleagues in the world of late night doing something like this. That may have something to do with their backgrounds: Jay Leno always has been a standup comic, David Letterman was a broadcast journalist who became a standup, and Conan O'Brien was a writer for Saturday Night Live. But Ferguson is an actor, and that makes a big difference.
The beauty of his show, if you haven't seen it, is that the interviews he conducts with other members of that profession are quite different, and mostly much better, than the other three hosts, because he's one of them. He understands the people who drop by on his program more than the others do, and the result is interviews that are much more interesting than the usual I'm-here-for-a-plug thing.
The other night, Sir Ben Kingsley was on, and he said something about being an actor that was not only lovely, but provided the kind of insight into the way this actor works that you wouldn't find anywhere else except in film journals. Kingsley said he tries to imagine himself completely in whatever role he's doing, knowing there's someone in the audience to whom that portrayal is close to real life.
And he can imagine, Kingsley said, reaching out into the audience and clapping that person on the shoulder and saying: I understand, you know. I understand what it's like to be you.
Now you may think that's actorly pomposity, or a method that can't possibly communicate on the big screen. It doesn't matter — what we found out was how this actor thinks, and that's valuable stuff for students of the entertainment world.
So I'm looking forward to reading Ferguson's book when I get a chance. In his monologue (which is quite long each night and is basically a riff on some topic or another that he develops like a dramatic piece; it's sort of like Eddie Izzard meets Garrison Keillor), Ferguson paid tribute to Herman Melville's Moby Dick, saluting the great white whale novel as an "explosion of genius,� by way of noting that the book was roundly excoriated when it appeared in 1851. At this point, you could hear most of the audience lapse into a baffled silence, which they often do when he uses words like "allegory" and "agrarian.� They just can't follow him.
But he's a rare talent, and if his book betrays the same intelligence, humor and sensitivity to the human condition he displays most nights on his show, it should be a pretty good read. (Here's an Entertainment Weekly review that didn't like it much.)
Has anybody out there already read it? Planning to read it? Post your comments.
Speaking of Scotland: The young Scottish violinist Nicola Benedetti appears tonight at the Rinker Playhouse at the Kravis Center in a concert of music by Mozart, Debussy, Wieniawski, Brahms, Schubert and Franck.
I'm enjoying her rendition of the Szymanowski concerto on her debut disc; this was a nervy and offbeat choice. I don't know that it will bring many converts to the cause of the Polish composer, but it at least shows there's a fine post-Romantic concerto out there that deserves a few more airings.
And there's an interesting extra on the disc. In addition to the inevitable Massenet Meditation from Thais, Benedetti has included a separate track with just the orchestral performance. Would-be violin heroes can download the sheet music from her Web site and play along. Classical karaoke!
Benedetti takes the stage at 7:30 p.m. Details here. I can't attend, but if you did, post a comment here.
Another interview I wish I'd seen. It seems to me that Malkovich in particular would be quite a sensitive guest; I've never seen him demonstrate anything like real comfort when being interviewed, and it must have been nice for him to be taken seriously and not typecast as a weirdo for late-night audiences looking for laughs before heading off to bed.
And you make a good point about his recovery from alcoholism. No doubt that has made him more tolerant towards different kinds of people, and as you say, it makes him more appealing for viewers.
I'll be happy to hear what you have to say about the novel, and will be looking forward to your post.
I can relate to your enthusiasm about Mr. Ferguson. One night John Malkovich was on, and instead of the usual and tired inferences about excentricities, Ferguson conducted an intelligent conversation about acting! Imagine that on late night tv! It seemed that at one point Malkovich himself snapped fully into the moment, surprised and pleased.
I think Ferguson's frankness about his recovery from addiction is a large part of what makes him so real. His vulnerability makes him accessible. His agile mind keeps me tuning in.
My copy of Between the Bridge and the River arrived in the mail today--can't wait to get it read!--and will comment further at that time.
Lisa:
That's quite a recommendation. Obviously, you loved the book, and for what sound like excellent reasons.
I'm excited to hear that the sharp observations he demonstrates each weeknight in his monologues are much in evidence in this book. He strikes me as the sort of person who, while he has plenty of funny comments to offer, also is a really good listener.
He demonstrates to me in his television work a true feeling for humanity, for the foibles and triumphs of people, and that's one of things that makes him so great to watch. After all, many of the celebrities he interviews are just regular middle-class folks, and he understands that and lets these people be who they really are, and that's a great skill to have.
Thanks for your terrific comments. They were a pleasure to read.
I agree with you completely about how unique Mr. Ferguson is. He has many and diverse talents. It's very unusual to find so much breadth--and depth--in one person.
I loved "Between the Bridge and the River!" When I finished this book, I closed the cover, set it down in my lap, smiled a big smile, and began to cry. What began as a deeply cynical view of life ended as a celebration of life and a belief in miracles.
With the exception of a few bleak moments I didn’t find it to be the dark, violent, dirty journey that he had warned his viewers about. There really was only one unredeemable major character and one truly evil character who made a brief, but memorable, appearance.
While I expected it to be somewhat dirty, sexy, violent, funny, etc. I did not expect it to be so powerful. Characters and situations are funny, sad, strange, dark, hateful, joyful and hopeful--full of grim realism and wild fantasy--all at once.
The writing is incredibly clever yet completely accessible to the average reader. The imagery is breathtaking. He paints such exquisite--and indelible--pictures in very few expertly chosen words. The power of the book comes from his insights, which are truly astounding. There are so many truths contained in it--lots of stinging barbs that are right on target. He sees deeply into society and circumstances and manages to expose the very essence of them in just a sentence or two. He absolutely nails fundamental human--and societal--truths.
I would have loved to have been inside his head as he was making choices on where to go.
In trying to characterize the book references have been made to Mikhail Bulgakov, Garrison Keillor, Carl Hiaasen, Dante and Jung. I’m not sure about Bulgakov and Hiaasen but I can see the Keillor comparison. He is also an excellent story teller. Personally, in addition to Dante and Jung, I also see Gary Zukav, Hunter Thompson and John Irving in there, which is to describe it, as one reviewer aptly put it, as “impossible to summarize.�
It's a wild and wonderful ride.
Lynne, Sandra, Marsha, Laura:
Thanks much for the comments. Some more thoughts:
a) Lynne — I wish I'd seen the Badu interview; it's for such moments that I find him so much better than the others (it really gets to me when you know the other chatfest hosts and guests are reading cue cards in the wings). I also think it's wonderful that he has had other authors on his show; you just don't see that anymore.
b) Sandra — I'm not surprised that Delray's in the book, because he's mentioned on the show several times that he really likes Delray. And you're right about his other activities, especially music. That's him, of course, singing the theme song. I wonder whether he wrote it — that wouldn't surprise me, either.
c) Marsha — I'd completely forgotten about Saving Grace, though I had heard he'd done some directing. I should have mentioned it in the posting; thanks for reminding me.
d) Laura — It's those bits of redemption amid all the hilarity that readers like me live for. They seem more true to life that way: You can go from hijinks to sadness in the blink of an eye in real life, why not in a novel? I think writers who can do this, and do it well, are more humane, and I always try to seek them out.
Thanks to all of you for posting. I'm definitely going to pick up a copy of the novel this weekend.
I haven't read Craig's book yet, but I am a devotee of his show, and am excited to hear about his book. You are right about his interviews; you really do feel like he is having a conversation with his guests, not a scripted interview where he saya things like "So I understand you had a crazy expereince in Borneo", and the interviewee tells some previously selected story. You really feel like he is interested in his guests. He did a segment once where he interviewed Erykah Badu, and actually asked her more about her thoughts on race, but in a completely non-judgmental way. He really wanted to hear her thoughts.
He is a joy!
Posted by: Lynne Streeter at April 11, 2006 4:03 PMI am currently reading Craig Ferguson's book & it is great! It's funny & different. He even manages to have some of the characters traveling through Delray Beach, of all the places the plot takes you through (Paris, Scotland, Las Vegas, etc). Thank you for posting about him...he has done a lot of different things in his career, including music, & now a book. Thanks to The LLS, he is becoming more noticed...I recommend checking out "Between The Bridge & The River" to anyone looking for a different read.
Posted by: Sandra at April 11, 2006 2:14 AMFerguson is not only an actor, but has written several screenplays (including the delightful Saving Grace), produced two movies, and directed one.
Posted by: Marsha at April 10, 2006 11:54 PMI've read Craig Ferguson's novel and I enjoyed it very much. I can relate to your comparison of it to Eddie Izzard meets Garrison Keillor. I had already noticed the touch of Garrison's storytelling ability but it definitely has a touch of wicked humor. Through the laughter, there are profound bits of realizations and redemptions that kept me entertained and inspired.
Posted by: Laura at April 10, 2006 10:04 PM
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