“Exit” Interview

Scottish author Ian Rankin might want to end the careers of more characters in the future, given how much favorable press he’s received of late for pink-slipping Edinburgh Detective Inspector John Rebus in Exit Music. He’s recently been interviewed both by the newspaper Metro and Shots, and a quartet of other notable Scottish writers remark on his contributions to crime fiction in the Glasgow Herald. But I’m most fond of a piece in The Independent on Sunday by critic, author, and Crime Time editor Barry Forshaw.

The record of their exchange touches on a variety of subjects, including Scottish independence, Rankin’s reluctance to hand his prose over to others, and his relationship to another, even more prominent Scotsman who also tried to cease writing about a popular protagonist. Explains Forshaw:

Ian Rankin’s Scottishness is, of course, one of his defining characteristics. Was he consciously following in the tradition of crime writing established by Edinburgh-born [Arthur] Conan Doyle? “Not at all! When I was young, I didn’t even know that Conan Doyle was Scottish! He appeared to be an English gentleman who wrote about an English consulting detective. We know that Scottish burr in his voice so well these days--you can go to the British Library and hear recordings of him--but back then, I didn’t even know what he sounded like. So I can’t honestly say he was an inspiration in terms of his Scottishness.”

And Forsaw inevitably winds round to what lies ahead for Rebus’ 47-year-old creator. Says Rankin:

“I’m doing a graphic novel--a stand-alone based on the DC comics character Hellblazer--and (wait for it) an opera libretto! In fact, it will be only 15 minutes long. It’s a project for Scottish Opera, and the composer is Craig Armstrong. He’s written some seriously impressive film music, such as Oliver Stone’s World Trade Center, but he’s never done an opera, and neither have I, so it’s quite a challenge. It’s actually part of a competition--Alexander McCall Smith is also writing for it--so the winners will have to write the rest of the opera. Craig and I have rather been hoping it won’t be us, as we’re both very busy people. For instance, I faithfully promised my publishers I’d beef up a novella I’ve written--the story of a heist, set in Edinburgh, called Doors Open.”

To read all of Forshaw’s Rankin piece, click here.