News & Reviews

WORD: Interview with ‘Perfection’ author Walter Satterthwait

"He had a pocketful of snow, a pack of killers on his trail, and dreams that were just a deal away…" Since Cocaine Blues marked his debut with that catchy tagline in 1979, Walter Satterthwait has authored a dozen books ranging from crime novels to historical mysteries and thrillers. WORD’N’BASS.com Editor BPM Smith interviewed Satterthwait about black humor, writing and the appeal of Burger King as St. Martin’s Press imprint Minotaur launched his thirteenth novel, Perfection.

WORD’N’BASS.com: St. Martin’s says you’re an author who gives readers a ‘feast of different flavors.’ Fair assessment?

Satterthwait: Yeah, I’d like to think so. Even when I’ve done a series of books, using the same character or characters, I like to think that each of the books has been different in some way, one from the other.

WORD’N’BASS.com: Your work has been pretty varied, anything from historical mysteries to modern day detective stories. How deliberate have you been about moving from different genres and settings?

Satterthwait:  It didn’t start out being deliberately. I just discovered like I liked to vary the kinds of things I wrote. If I’d wanted to do the same thing every day, I could have become an accountant.

WORD’N’BASS.com: When you pull an about-face from say, one of your historical mysteries to Cocaine Blues -- great title by the way -- you’re not easily typecast.

Satterthwait: No, but that sometimes works to my detriment. Sometimes a reader will like the character in one series, then pick up my next book and discover that the book doesn't contain the character he liked. Sometimes he becomes disappointed. Sometimes he throws rocks through my windows.

WORD’N’BASS.com: Your thirteenth novel Perfection is out this month (February 2006). It has some similarities to your earlier detective novels but the premise is off-the-hook. Tell us about it, and how you came up with the idea.

Satterthwait: The idea in Perfection is that a serial killer is targeting clinically obese women, killing them, and then (as he sees it) cutting them down to size. He picks his victims by hanging out in supermarkets and watching the shopping carts. If one woman has too many Little Debbie Snack Cakes, she becomes a potential victim.
 
WORD’N’BASS.com: Perfection also has some serious black humor. This morning I was reading it at a café and burst out laughing on page two. That’s when the killer jams a cupcake in his mouth.

Satterthwait: I laughed when I wrote that scene.

WORD’N’BASS.com: Tell us about your use of black comedy, and how important is it to Perfection’s mood and flow?

Satterthwait: In a way, the book is kind of a joke. But the joke wouldn’t work unless it were told with a straight face.

WORD’N’BASS.com: Black humor seems to build a sort of duality here. Is offsetting the grimness of murder with irony, even comedy, a way to mute the horror?

Satterthwait: Sometimes to mute it. Sometimes to make it even more horrible.

WORD’N’BASS.com: Perfection also go me thinking about the bigger picture. All of us embrace this idea of perfection and beauty to a degree. When you’re shopping for clothes or dressing for a social event, you’re essentially chasing that ideal. Is there any message you’re delivering in Perfection about narcissism today?

Satterthwait: I’m not sure that there's really a "message". I think that maybe there are some observations about the American obsession with slimness, and some observations about the nearly epidemic levels of obesity. I guess I’m trying to have my cake and eat it, too.  And also not gain any weight from it.

WORD’N’BASS.com: Everyone’s seen this: You’re at Burger King and a 400-lb. woman orders a double Whopper with cheese combination. Large fries. What’s your reaction?

Satterthwait: Sadness. But that becomes anger if she’s got a kid with her, and she’s feeding the kid the same kind of food. Adults, theoretically, have a choice.  Kids don't. And my understanding is that when obesity is developed in childhood, it’s almost impossible to get rid of. So what that woman is doing, essentially, is dooming her child to a less active, a probably less productive, and an almost certainly shorter life.

WORD’N’BASS.com: Some people say that every character is a piece of the author. Who in Perfection to you identify with and why?

Satterthwait: I like ‘em all, and identify with ‘em all. Although I love fast food, I’m probably as picky about my real food as my killer is. I like Sophia because she’s kind of an outsider, and a writer is always, to some extent, an outsider.  I like Fallon because he’s been around, and so, alas, have I. One of my favorite characters in the book is Cyndi Purdenelle, the woman who idolizes Montaigne. I’m pretty fond of Montaigne myself.

WORD’N’BASS.com: Your latest work represents a very post-post modern theme. That’s a change in direction for you so I’m wondering, is this a new direction in your career?

Satterthwait: I don’t think so. I think that there’ve been similar themes and threads in all of my books since Miss Lizzie. I like playing around with time and space and with the readers’ expectations.

WORD’N’BASS.com: What’s next?

Satterthwait: A book about vampires. But a very different kind of vampires.

WORD’N’BASS.com: Thanks, Walter, and best of luck with everything.

Satterthwait: Thank you, Bryan, and thanks for having me.

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