“I’m interested in writing about people who do bad things but who are not necessarily monsters”, said O’Connell, as he spoke about his approach to non-fiction, from his first book on transhumanists to his most recent publication A Thread of Violence, about the convicted murderer Malcolm Macarthur.
In a conversation which spanned the moral and ethical considerations of telling a story (or not) and in what way you have “licence to fictionalise” non-fiction, Professor Kenny asked O’Connell if the key theme running through his books is “difficult men”, and if “men make particularly good villains?”
The Rooney Writer Fellow said that his books have looked at men who did terrible things but then tried to redeem themselves; “people who are trying to have very different second acts” Professor Kenny suggested.
Rather than “convict someone on the page”, he discussed how he wants to create more “complicated portraits” of his subjects. However, he said this approach is not without its risks as evidenced by the “volatility” of responses to his most recent book. “I still feel like it’s an open question whether I should have written the book or not”, he said. There are “hard choices” to make about which story to pursue.
His new book will look at the high-ranking Nazi engineer Wernher von Braun, described as “Hitler’s favourite scientist”. A prime example of someone who had a “second act”, O’Connell described how von Braun went from developing the V-2 rocket during the Second World War to being part of the American ‘Operation Paperclip’ and ultimately a leading figure in propelling the Apollo spacecraft to the Moon. This will be the first time that O’Connell will not at some point be in the same room with his subject. Von Braun died in 1977 having “never faced the consequence of what he did”.
During the Fellow in Focus conversation O’Connell’s unique writing style was also explored, with Professor Kenny suggesting that the author inserts himself “as part of the narrative”. “I can’t get beyond my own subjective position,” O’Connell replied, adding that he’s “trying to be as truthful as possible”. You’re leaving out a large part of the picture if you “erase yourself” from the narrative, O’Connell observed, pointing out that journalism is a “very eccentric fictional form”.
The Rooney Writer Fellow at the Trinity Long Room Hub is supported by Dr Peter Rooney. Previous fellows have included novelists Caitriona Lally and Paul Murray, and the poet Nidhi Zak.