Bookworm
John Darnielle: Wolf In White Van
Darnielle titled his novel after a back-masked message in Larry Norman’s song “Six Sixty Six.” He reflects on our desire to locate meaning where there might be none.
By Michael Silverblatt • • 28m ListenJohn Darnielle, widely known as the lead singer and song-writer of The Mountain Goats, has now proven himself to be a man of letters. His first novel, Wolf in White Van (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux), is titled for a back-masked message in Christian Rock pioneer Larry Norman's song "Six Sixty Six." Darnielle plays on our to desire to locate messages and meaning where there might be none, where the message comes through as incoherent. He says music, whether dark or light, is 100% affirmative: we were put here to sing; we write, on the other hand, to erase things.
Banner Image Credit: Gregg Lewis
