Novelist Nick Mamatas Declares His Independence (Mickey Z.)

[Tace]

The People's Republic of Me

Mickey Z. -- World News Trust

Jan. 9, 2007 -- I met Nick Mamatas in 1999 when he edited my first book, "Saving Private Power." Nick was (and is) brutally honest and opinionated. He also wields his wit like a weapon and is just about the smartest guy I know. Author of six books (including two novels) and contributor to several more, Mamatas is an original and creative writer with palpable subtlety, nuance, and social conscience. His latest novel, "Under My Roof" (Soft Skull), is a suburban fable about a family that declares independence thanks for a homemade nuclear device stored inside a garden gnome. Having just finished reading this remarkable book, I decided to ask Nick a few questions via e-mail.

Mickey Z.: How would you feel if I said your new book reminded me of Kurt Vonnegut... and I meant that as a major compliment?

Nick Mamatas: That would feel great. Vonnegut is definitely an influence. I was handed "Slapstick" by an indulgent uncle at a young age -- I was probably eight years-old -- never looked back. Lots of kids read science fiction, of course, but they generally start with Asimov or Andre Norton or somesuch. My "skipping ahead" really did help define my aesthetic.

MZ: The roof your protagonist is living under just happens to be located on suburban Long Island. You misspent your youth there, right?

NM: Some of it. We traveled back and forth between Brooklyn and Suffolk County, and then my father built a home there. We actually moved in when I was a junior in high school, into the basement which was then just four walls and a dirt floor. I built my own room over the next couple of years.

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