Right brained

I've been picking out selections from a book of writers interviewing writers, choosing the pieces based on my familiarity with their names and work. it's titled, "The Believer Book of Writers Talking to Writers," put out by the people who started 826, the kids' volunteer tutoring centers. I didn't have many expectations of this set up, since so often writers discussing their work is somehow dissatisfying and I'm often downright suspicious of them. However, when one of the writers is someone like Joan Didion, whom I've always appreciated, particularly her essays, I have to give it shot. Certainly not disappointing to read her reflections on how California has always had a history of selling itself to the highest bidder for the quickest buck, although sad and depressing. A sampling of what she considers to be "unfortunate decisions California citizens have made: Electing two movie-star governors; building prisons to create jobs; neglecting the public school system in favor of short term gains; and committing a lot of sane people to mental institutions. She is interviewed by Dave Eggers, who helped found the 826 centers, and who is a published author. (A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius was his first big hit.) I also liked Didion's fiction back when I read it, but I consider her more successful as a non-fiction writer. Her ability to "cut to the chase" serves her best, I think, in non-fiction.
Another pairing I read was Zadie Smith - whose first novel, White Teeth, was published when she was about 23, and which I really savored - interviewing Ian McEwan, another British writer whose work is much acclaimed but which does not send me. Their interaction, however, is wonderful, and gave me new respect for him. I really admire his work ethic and intelligence, as I do Ms. Smith's. A comment of his: "I have now reached the stage where as soon as anyone says life moves around a single, organizing principle I stop listening to them. I don't feel that life organizes itself around any single principle. It's a religious impulse to only grasp at one thing, one explanation." And how can one not love this example of something they discuss? "Aspects of the 'English Novel' to avoid: Polite, character-revealing dialogue; stable, linear narrative; Lightly ironic ethical investigation; Excessive amounts of furniture."
Gasp. As I re-read that last aspect, I have to admit that one of my heroines of fiction, Elizabeth Bowen, definitely strew plenty of furniture around her interior settings! However, she broke out of the other conventions pretty well for someone writing at the time she did, early to mid 20th century. Anyway, I can't condemn the use of English furniture to appoint a story; I have a sort of geeky fascination in finding out what an ormulu thingy is, or a skeleton clock.
At any rate, I am enjoying reading these interviews far more than I expected. They give me hope that there might be good things to read even in the dismal future.