Shaun Saunders
[Continued from page 1]
SUNNI: Yeah, me too, on suicide, Shaun ... but the kind of logical thinking you're displaying isn't what tends to go on in the halls of government. It's the same disgusting story here, as I'm sure you know if you follow world news.
SHAUN: Yes, governments are, I think, usually confined to a very short term perspective. The current term of office.
SUNNI: Ha! That certainly pegs it here. Considering former British territories in general, along with the UK itself -- say, Canada, the U.S., and Australia -- it's pretty clear that the UK and Canadian governments are pretty thoroughly socialist in many ways, and that many citizens are content to go along with them. That seems to be less true for Australia and the U.S. -- which of them do you see as being more rebellious against their would-be government masters?
SHAUN: I think that I'd be presumptuous to comment about your country when I haven't even visited there. But it was pleasing to see on TV the number of people in both our countries protesting over the most recent war against Iraq. However, the machine rolled on regardless ... Weapons of mass destruction? Or weapons of mass deception?
SUNNI: It's somewhat reassuring to see recent polls where the U.S. president's approval ratings continue to slip; I think people are beginning to see that it was certainly mass deception. But that's just one step of awakening, which isn't a process many like, or will undertake if they can avoid it. Your book, if anything, probably suffers because it's one that awakens people. Mallcity 14 was a chilling book to read, Shaun; it seems like most of the worst stuff you created in it is just a few steps away from us here in the U.S. I'm not an opponent of capitalism, but I am becoming dismayed by the push toward what seems to be shallow consumerism -- making crappy products so that they'll need to be replaced sooner than well-made items, ever-changing fashions and more pressure to be in style, that starts in infancy now, "buy buy buy" culture rather than investment culture -- do you see that in Australia, too? Or was that based on your conception of mainstream American society?
SHAUN: Mallcity 14 was a book I felt had to be written. In fact, it sometimes felt as if it were writing itself. I'd go to bed after a day of writing, and the first paragraph of the next chapter would appear in my mind ... so instead of going to sleep, the computer got switched back on. I don't know if I told you this before, but it was written in 22 days. I don't know how I did it!
SUNNI: Wow. That's impressive!
SHAUN: The original blurb (which I changed just prior to printing) actually said, "Somewhere past tomorrow, and perhaps not too far away ..." But in my mind, it applied equally to your country, mine, and the UK, hence the mixed bag of idioms and expressions. You might recall that I never actually identified what country it is set in -- that only comes out in the second book. The whole move towards modern consumer society came about initially after the first World War, but mostly after the second. Yes, it is certainly a "buy now, think later (if at all) culture", where consumption is often solely for the sake of consumption. And that leads us to your point regarding planned obsolescence and buying products which have no real intrinsic use or value. They're often sold under the guise of allowing us to be individuals, but that, quite simply, is a crock: we're all born as individuals, and we stay that way until we hand our identities away. Any culture or belief system that emphasizes that the source of good is outside of the individual is sick.
Empowerment comes from seeing the good and inherent potential in each of us, and striving to develop that. Psychologically healthy people with good levels of self-esteem neither need or are overly affected by appeals that their lives will be better if only they could wear this shoe, drink that cola, and wear that deodorant. Of course, when you're raised from birth within the consumer fishbowl, your personal self-esteem comes under a battering very early on, as does your proclivity to think independently. Other people will do that for you, it is inferred. Just keep walking on the consumer treadmill, and don't even think about getting off. Only strange people question how things are, and we don't want to appear strange, do we? What might others think of us... But it's not easy to see the potential outside of the bowl. But fortunately, the activities of people like yourself and CASPIAN help to lift the veil.
SUNNI: Hell, I've been considered strange for so long it's rather a badge of honor now! What kinds of feedback have you been getting for the book? Anybody calling you a prophet -- or a Luddite? [laughs]
SHAUN: The reviews -- ten I think now -- have been great. And individual feedback has also been great! People seem to like the humor, but still pick up on the messages, and some say that more and more from Mallcity 14 comes to mind days after reading the book as they walk through their normal lives and see parallels. Several have said that they read it in one long sitting, because they wanted to see what was going to happen next. I think that a lot of people feel the way the central character, Jason, does, and they find it a little relieving that they're not alone. It's been compared to Fahrenheit 451, and a British author very kindly referred to me as "Australia's George Orwell", which is quite a compliment. I must say, though, that whilst 1984 is very dark, Mallcity 14 is the opposite -- humor, glitz and glam, one big advertisement that the characters live in, but that can be scary too ... It's very, very close to where we are now, and indeed, if we're not very, very careful, it's also where we'll be in just a few years to come ... where's that time machine I spoke of before?
SUNNI: That was one element of the book that was most hauntingly effective for me, Shaun -- being on the brink of Mallcity, so to speak. You mentioned to me a while back that you have another book -- or is it books? -- that touch on similar themes as those in Mallcity 14. Are any out yet?
SHAUN: Yes, I've written two sequels: Return to Mallcity, and Mallcity One. At present, I'm looking for an agent/publisher to take on all three together. I like writing, but I'm not a marketer! For the books to get the right exposure, they need the muscle of a major publisher. I also have plans for a prequel and a final installment.
SUNNI: In what ways are they like Mallcity 14? How are they different?
SHAUN: Same universe, where the central characters of the first book go -- hang on, I'm giving it away! [chuckles] But for those who have read the first book, Will does get to see his sand and pyramids ... some new characters appear, some old ones die, and we get to see some different perspectives on society. In the third book, we visit the capital of the modern consumer world -- Mallcity One. If you thought Mallcity 14 was a little unnerving ... Each book has a distinct and original feel and flavor to it. And they took a lot longer to write! But it was an immensely enjoyable feeling to have written them.
