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post 790) from Xanga
Nov. 1st, 2005 12:00 pmAn excerpt from an interview with author Will Self (from http://www.spoiledink.com/FEATURES/author_interviews_007.php):
"Yes, in the Talmud there’s this idea of the Twelve Just Men. The Talmudic concept is that at any time in the world there are twelve men - it was men, presumably that’s now been altered by the equal opportunities commission in some way - and that the fate of humanity resided with them. In the story you’re referring to - Between the Conceits - the idea is that these eight individuals collectively control the entire population of London. They are each allotted a certain moiety of the populace, whom they control and make decisions for. I suppose that like a lot of my fictional riffs, it was an attempt to explain the overpowering sense of collective endeavour."
"Yes, in the Talmud there’s this idea of the Twelve Just Men. The Talmudic concept is that at any time in the world there are twelve men - it was men, presumably that’s now been altered by the equal opportunities commission in some way - and that the fate of humanity resided with them. In the story you’re referring to - Between the Conceits - the idea is that these eight individuals collectively control the entire population of London. They are each allotted a certain moiety of the populace, whom they control and make decisions for. I suppose that like a lot of my fictional riffs, it was an attempt to explain the overpowering sense of collective endeavour."
