Set my mind at rest please.Will Self,total wanker or utterly brilliant??

[moondog]

Hmmmmm??

I so want to be one of MD's Wimmin.
Self is obviously a total wanker, anyone who's ever heard him speak can tell that a mile off.
But in his favour he has ideas, writes them up, makes people laugh, and is curiously good imo at writing the thoughts of women. He's not what you could call a deep writer though, is he? Nothing really stinging to report about the human condition. More like odd little intellectual exercises taken to extremes for pretentious reasons, but amusing at the same time.
He does short stories so much better than novels. I loved "Scale" (the one referred to below where the character boils up kaolin and morphine to get a fix) and "Cock and Bull", and all of his first collection.
I saw him read once and he is great at performing his own work, unlike a lot of writers. But didn't find him hot.
So on balance, quite a wanker and not quite utterly brilliant.

ooo I like Will Self .. I know I shouldn't .. but I do

Meant to ask in my post -is/was Will Self a heroin addict or have I completely imagined that?

He was. I know he was clean - don't know if he still is.
I think My Idea of Fun was largely the product of that time of his life, hence its totally gross weirdness (don't read it if you have a weak stomach, or, um, anything at all better to do).

No idea which he is - he's too scary. The thought of being on a primary school governing body and WS turning up as a fellow-governor. wd immediately be wearing spiritual white knee socks and calf-length navy skirt.

does it matter? i like some things he does and not others. so i either read/watch them or i dont. unless you live with/work with/happen to know the man, what earthly difference does it make to you what hes like?
or isthat too sensible?

Thanks Pruni -at least I know I haven't made it up in my own little world

Oh god Will Self is one of those people that I find completely irresistible, I think he's quite scary but I like unusual people.

He was hanging around Oxford at the same time as me (no, I only went to the Poly) and he was friends with a friend of mine who lived with Imogen Stubbs so yeah, 2 degrees or whatever.

A sad thing is that the friend of mine committed suicide eventually (he really was a tortured genius) and Will Self actually wrote about him doing that years later in a newspaper article.(very movingly)