Joe Dunthorne: Author of Submarine

The indie movie based on his debut novel Submarine was a cult hit. We chat with Joe about his greatest football goal and fellow author and philanthropist, Dave Eggers.

How autobiographical is Submarine?
The protagonist, Oliver, is approximately 42 percent me. I was definitely weird and self-obsessed (and sex-obsessed) at that age, but I never took to stalking my mum’s friends. I also got to visit the set a couple of times, which was unforgettable. It was like being a guest inside my own skull.

Is there more or less of you in your poetry?
I put more of my adult self into my poems. They tend to prey upon my anxieties and paranoias and expand upon them. Though if I was exactly the type of person that my poems suggest I am, I'm not sure how many friends I would have.

How much involvement did you have in Submarine, the film?
I was script consultant, which mainly meant trying to ensure that the characters sounded like themselves, and I worked with the director to help decide the tone of the film. In his attic, we watched Woody Allen, Godard, Truffaut, Rohmer, Scorcese, Kubrick. I also got to visit the set a couple of times which was unforgettable. It was like being a guest inside my own skull.

How did you feel having your cameo cut from the film?
Sad but not totally surprised. I'm pretty sure I was never destined for the stage. Either way, I think my cameo is still on the DVD extras.

Do you think the casting was accurate?
I was worried about the casting, particularly with Oliver, but I think Craig Roberts and Yasmin Paige did an amazing job as the young couple.

They felt totally right. Yasmin's Welsh accent, in particular, is a masterpiece, considering that she's a Londoner! She sounds more Welsh than most Welsh people.

What would you have done differently?
There are some scenes from the book which I was sad that the film missed. There's one where Oliver takes his father to the funfair and puts him on the electric chair ride. It's a symbolic enactment of shock therapy to try and cure his depression; it's my favourite.

Tell us about playing with the England Writers’ Football Team.
In the writers’ World Cup we lost to Sweden but, in doing so, injured so many of their players that in the semifinal, they had to recruit some England players for their team. I was one of the chosen and I scored my greatest international goal wearing a Sweden shirt.

Are you happy with being compared to Tore Andre Flo?
Very happy. A fine, if largely forgotten, player.

Who would you like to be compared to as a writer?
I'd really like to be compared to Kafka but, somehow, I don't think it's going to happen.

What’s the favorite of all your projects?
My favourite is always the one I haven't started yet.

What’s been the greatest achievement of Homework, your “monthly night of literary miscellany”?
Our greatest achievement was having 150 people, all wearing Tom Cruise masks, chanting the poem that Tom’s character reads in the film Cocktail. It was the culmination of a project where we invited people to rewrite that poem – “the worst poem of all time” – to see if something beautiful could come of it.

Is Dave Eggers a particular inspiration?
He is, but he’s not the only one. I love David Berman and Foster Wallace and DeLillo and Frederick Seidel and Ali Smith and David Mitchell and Don Paterson ... the list goes on.

Have you been back to New South Wales after your time backpacking there?
No. I think the trauma would be too much.

You could live anywhere in the world, but you choose East London. Why?
With London, the more energy you put in, the more you get out. As long as I’ve got the will to keep exploring it, there will always be new things to find: food, music, theatre, literature, people, subcultures. Something about the grim weather and the grim landscapes, gives an edge to much of the creativity in the city – I like that.

How do you feel about the upcoming Olympics?
I think I might be one of the few East London residents who is excited. I can’t wait. It won’t be as spectacular as Beijing but hopefully we’ll play to our strengths and it’ll be a showcase for East London’s creativity. Plus, I’m looking forward to seeing the ping-pong.

Joe Dunthorne appears at two events on Aug 19. Listen to him chat with author Zhang Yueran at Zajia at 2.30pm or at a book talk at The Bookworm at 7.30pm.

Click here to see the Beijinger August issue in full.

Photo: Angus Muir