Tuesday, January 10, 2006

Still more from the Rowling interview...

Stephen McGinty provides even more information from the Tatler J.K. Rowling interview for the Scotsman.

In this article we learn J.K. has written a book for younger children, "a political fairy tale" starring a monster. She prefers cafes to her study (who doesn't?) and says, despite it all, she is grateful for her wealth. The following paragraph from the article is particularly intriguing:
  • "Rowling, who has three houses in Edinburgh, Perth and London, says she still found it 'freakish' to find herself in a position where her PA could arrange for her to meet anyone in the world. She decided, however, not to pick up the phone to the Pope after he was critical of her novels 'subtle seductions' which, he claimed, could 'distort Christianity'. The author, who is an Episcopalian Christian, says of the complaints of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, that: 'I can remember reading about it and thinking, surely there are more important things for him to worry about than my books - world peace, war in the Middle East.' In the interview she compares her own faith to that of Catholic author, Graham Greene: 'Like Greene, my faith is sometimes about if my faith will return. It's important to me.'"