Puppylove
‘IT'S SOMETHING ONLY WHITE MIDDLE CLASS PEOPLE BOTHER ABOUT'
NIRPAL SINGH DHALIWAL tells Allan Radcliffe that he doesn’t want to be a tokenistic figure. But those Michel Houellebecq comparisons will do nicely.
nless your natne happens to be '/.adie Smith.
debut novelists tend to enter the literary stage
to polite applattse rather than excited whoops. But when yottr first full-length work is being hailed by no less a personage than Julie Burchill as ‘the best debut novel I‘ve ever read‘. you can at least expect to attract some attentive curiosity.
Nirpal Singh l)haliwal is certainly not on a mission to ingratiate himself with the white. middle-class book-buying mainstream. 'l'he 3l-year-old Londoner abhors the notion that he might attract attention for some perceived exotic street-cred as a young British Sikh. In a recent newspaper article he railed fttriottsly against the l’(‘ tokenistn of such fledgling institutions as the Decibel Awards for black and Asian writers and attacked the 'woolly sentimentalism~ that made the London literati laud an ‘unremarkable‘ writer such as the mixed-race Smith.
While working on his tale of a cocky. nihilistic young wide-boy. Bhupinder ‘l’uppy‘ Singh Johal. who dreams of leaving his suburban upbringing behind and carving out a career as a novelist. Dhaliwal admits the piece only caught fire when he stopped writing with a mainstream readership in mind. ‘I started ottt with a vague idea what I wanted to write about in terms of themes — class. money. London —- but I didn‘t have a clear idea of the character and l was concentrating heavily on style. I got to a point where I thought. “Fuck it. I‘m going to write the way I talk to my friends. and fuck political correctness: that‘s something only white. middle- class people bother about." And that was when the
30 THE LIST 30 Marvsl‘d Apr 3006
character of Puppy emerged.‘
While Puppy‘s cynical. rudderless meander through cosmopolitan London is reminiscent in tone to Martin Amis‘ M()I1(‘_\‘ or Jay Mclnerney‘s Brig/i1 Lights. Big City. it was a (iallic literary superstar that fttelled mttch of l)haliwal‘s passion for writing. "l‘he book that had the biggest influence on me was Alomisul by Michel llouellebecq. lle‘s unafraid to give vent to the
less attractive aspects of his personality. I felt that if
this nerdy white guy could write about such painful things. there was no reason why I should be fucking about.‘
'I'ourism certainly shares Houellebecq‘s blatant disregard for mainstream readers' P(‘ sensibilities. the protagonist drilling through life pouring profane bile on every model. journalist and socialite he comes into contact with. Yet. it’s l)haliwal‘s fresh. striking imagery. fine observation and talent for flinty. naturalistic dialogue that marks him out as a talent to watch. ‘l‘ve lived a life in which I‘ve encountered many different voices from teenage crack-heads to black boys who went to prison. from Asians who went to Oxford and (‘ambridge to rich. white people.‘
As Dhaliwal admits. now that the book is making its way in the world on its own. he's keen to get out and start reacquainting himself with those people again. ‘Writing is lonely. If I write another book. there's no way I would write it in the satne way. dipping into experiences I'd rather have forgotten. sticking my head up my arse and being a miserable fuck.’
Tourism is published by Vintage on Thu 6 Apr.
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THE BEST BOOKS. comes 8 arms
* Nlrpal Slngh Dhallwal The hottest debut of the year, Tourism. comes from this London writer who has been dubbed the new Michel Houellebecq. See preview, left. Vintage.
* Will Hodgklnson Guitar Man is the often wry, occasionally very insightful look at one man’s ioumey to pick up a six-string and master it to the point where he can perform before a live audience. See review. Bloomsbury.
* Mlko Carey, Manolo Frusln 8. Doug Alexander om Hellblazer gets a solid mn-out here in Staring at the Wall with DC icons Swamp Thing and the Phantom Stranger showing up to stirring effect. See review. Vertigo.
3|: Alan Moon, Dave Gibbons, Curt Swan 8: Brlan Bollond The work of Mr Moore is given a fresh injection with V for Vendetta out there now (not that he likes the film much) and here is a collection of one-off subversive superhero tales. See review. DC.
* Alan Black The Falkirk lad behind cult novels Boyracers and The Incredible Adam Spark gets two events this issue. The first is an advice shop for literary wannabes while the second is a bit of a conversation-type lark. Leith Library, Edinburgh, Thu 30 Mar; The Black Swan, Edinburgh, Wed 12 Apr.
* Danlolla Westbrook The other month, we had Jordan rolling into town to sign her autobiography and this time around, it's the former 'Ender who’s been popping up on those ghosty programmes you get on UvingTV. Borders Books, Glasgow, Mon 3 Apr.
1: City STORIES A series of World City of Literature events in which some public figures discuss all things literary culminates in a List collaboration with Richard Jobson (pictured) and Alison Watt confirmed to appear. Playfair Library, Edinburgh, Thu 6 Apr-