American Subversive Soiree

The monied streets of New York's Meatpacking District provided the perfect backdrop for David Goodwillie's book party. Goodwillie's debut novel American Subversive (Scribner, April 2010) is a brilliant literary thriller and romance between Aidan Cole, a failed journalist turned gossip blogger and Paige Roderick, a radical who blows up Barney's high end department store.





After a reading at 192 Books, a crowd of mod Manhattanites headed to Bottino for drinks and hors d' oeuvres. The revelers reminded me of my carefree underage drinking days when Marquee was the club to be seen at. Strangely, after reading Goodwillie's debut novel, I related more to fictional Paige, a disenfranchised woman who turns to terrorism after her brother's death in Iraq. I also understood Aidan's fascination with fanaticism, a world where people will go to extremes for their ideals, far removed from the insular New York party circuit.

After a few glasses of Pinot Noir and some steak tartare snacks, I left feeling slightly reactionary. Perhaps what American Subversive is all about.



Guests included Nan Graham, David Goodwillie, Leah Rudick of Skinny Bitch Jesus Meeting, authors Susan Shapiro and Liza Monroy, and the Scribner team.

-Royal
Photos: Amanda Segur

Author Interview: David Goodwillie

New York City: 2010. When a bomb goes off above Barney’s high-end department store the city is in shock. In David Goodwillie’s debut novel American Subersive (Scribner, April) Aidan Cole, a failed journalist turned gossip blogger receives a mystery email. Attached is a photo of a beautiful woman obscured by dark sunglasses and the chilling words “This is Paige Roderick...she is the one responsible.” I recently called Goodwillie before his book tour of the Midwest, America’s “Heartland” to chat about bloggers, babes, bombings and the influences behind his fascinating fictional world.



Royal: In your memoir, Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time, you talk about the impact 9/11 had on you. How did that play out in American Subversive?

David: I didn’t want to write a book about 9/11. Maybe it’s a post-post 9/11 book. Fear and NYC media swim in the same pool. But, I wanted to move on. American Subversive deals with a different form of terrorism.

R: Have you ever considered terrorism as a day job?

D [laughs]: The novel is about two characters on the fringes of our generation. I was in the middle. I do care unlike Aidan, but I don’t go to violent protests. I don’t think it’s the answer. I’ve done a ton of research on the Weather Underground. That’s where it stopped.

R: There’s definitely a glamour attached to terrorism. Why do you think so?

D: Bernardine Dohrn, Bill Ayers from the ‘60s. They were good looking, Ivy educated hipsters. They had orgies, dope smoking, people on the run. There’s always been a Bonnie and Clyde vibe, while fixing the ills of the world in dramatic fashion.

R: You finished the novel in France. Was it necessary to leave America to complete your book?

D: I’ve lived in New York for fourteen years and I love it because I have a house swap in Bordeaux. Parts are very insidery when it comes to New York media. I go to the parties my characters went to. It’s great to get out and see that the world doesn’t really care.

R: Is the NYC high-end party circuit so different from a terrorist cell? Same power plays and hierarchy?

D: Everyone makes fun of the incestuous media world. But the people writing and reporting have power. That’s where you’re getting your information. The thing about the media world is no one knows anyone’s real importance anymore. The major breaking news story of the day is gotten by a gossip blogger. I don’t think anyone really knows where we’re headed.

Check out David's first reading from American Subversive next Thursday April 22, 7:00 pm. Barnes & Noble Tribeca, 97 Warren St., NYC.

-Royal