T. Coraghessan Boyle

Author

Boyle, the noted fiction author (Riven Rock, Descent of Man, World's End, etc.) is interviewed by Russ Spencer in the Book magazine (Dec '98/Jan '99).

"I am an atheist and a nihilist. I think all my life I've been struggling to recover my faith or belief in something, but I can't. I wish I could, but I just can't."

And later,

"This is a time when hip is the rule, irony is the rule, sarcasm is the rule, and science is the rule. And I know all the arguments. I know Kierkegaard says you have to make the leap of faith, even though it's absurd. I know that science is as much voodoo as God is because there is no foundation to it, and I know that the unanswered questions are unanswerable. And I would love to make the leap of faith, and believe in something. But I believe in nothing. And it causes me tremendous despair and heartbreak."

And finally,

"I wish I could be spiritual in the way that Coltrane was. Connect with something and believe in it. But in our time, everything is wide open and it's terrifying. There is nothing between us and the naked howling face of the universe. Nothing."

--KR