12 metrolife Thursday, January 28, 2010 D About Town THE HOTTEST TICKETS IN TOWN Kevin Bridges Affable bloke-down-the-pub stand-up from Scotlands Kevin Bridges whose trademark joke about doing something nasty in a kitchen appliance could raise a chuckle at a funeral Until Sat, The Laughter Lounge, Eden Quay D1, 7pm, 25. Tel: 1800 266 339. www.laughterlounge.com Mythic Links A series of lectures featuring leading academics and commentators with a medieval theme. The first in the series What made St Brigit different in the Early Middle Ages? will be delivered by Dr Elva Johnson, with music from Niamh OBrien Rhiannon Tonight, The United Arts Club, 3 Upper Fitzwilliam Street D2, 7.30pm, 10. E-mail: yiorgos.chouliaras@gmail.com metrometro lifeStaying In & Going Out We have two pairs of tickets to see Rod Stewart at the O2, Jul 31, 7.30pm For a chance to win, e-mail your answer to the question below to life@ metroireland.ie by noon today with Hot Tickets in the subject line. With the answer include your name, address and a number where you can be contacted between 1pm and 3pm. Strictly one entry per person; entrants must be age 18 or over. Q. Rod Stewart was once a member of which band? A The Small Faces B The Large Hands The winner of yesterdays tickets to The High Kings are: Brian Kettle and John Sheehy The Big Interview Elizabeth Kostova An impression of modern-day story of a psychiatrist determined to discover why a famous artist has been committed to his care even though said artist refuses to speak and just obsessively recreates the portrait of a mysterious dark-haired woman. I wanted to write about a painter as Ive always been fascinated by the way they work and how they see the world, Kostova explains. I also had this idea, which is more of a literary experiment, of wanting to write a character built entirely out of other peoples voices, who in a way wouldnt be allowed to speak for himself. To write convincingly about painting, however, was a challenge for which there are few successful examples to draw upon: the intensity and absorption of the creative moment is evocatively rendered here. I worked very hard at that, she says. I know a lot of painters and they were very generous in allowing me to watch over their shoulder and pester them with questions. And I did paint a little bit until I was about 15 or 16 a long time ago but I still remember the smell of the oils and the feel of the brushes. K ostova summons up 1870s Paris partly through a series of letters threaded through the narrative, an increasingly intimate correspondence between two artists on the edges of the Impressionist movement. The epistolary element is an echo of The Historian. Letters are such a wonderful lost art I think its a great way to experience voices, Kostova says. And why Impressionism? I found myself burning out on the Impressionists. Weve had so many big exhibitions over the past 20 years and you see those I think the long novel is, for many people, an antidote to the rush that were all in est-sellerdom seems to have come as something of a surprise to American novelist Elizabeth Kostova. Her first book, The Historian, became the fastest-selling hardback debut novel in US history. The blood-tingling, 642-page Gothic reimagining of the Dracula myth hit all the right commercial buttons: it was a historical thriller involving a dash across Europe and plenty of clues in old documents (ticking the Da Vinci Code box); and it came along just as the current bout of neck-rophilia was kicking off. But Kostova, now 45, was blissfully unaware of all those spheres lining up: shes not a popular fiction fan, it transpires. It sounds crazy now but I wasnt particularly aware of the whole Da Vinci Code phenomenon when The Historian came out, she admits. Id been working on my book for ten years and I dont really read too much commercial fiction; I like fiction that has a very high standard of prose. For an adventure story, for instance, I like Robert Louis Stevenson. Bloodsuckers fare little better. Id never read much in the vampire genre in fact, I was surprised to find myself writing anything to do with vampires, she says. Its myth and legend that interest me. I dont really feel I have time to read genre fiction that sounds snobby and I dont mean it that way. But if I have the choice between reading some genre fiction and settling down with Bleak House... life is short, you know. Kostovas follow-up novel The Swan Thieves, therefore, may rival The Historian for length at 564 pages but theres nary a fang-tastic frolic in sight. This time, for our dose of history haunting the present, were transported back to France at the birth of Impressionism, framed by the linked B The author tells Siobhn Murphy how she studied painters at work in order to evoke the world of impressionist artists in her latest novel ME, ME, ME: Inside the minds of celebrities 10% Shaved hair 50% I love playing old ladies 40% Fed up with Labour The Sick And Indigent Song Club Their weekly residency at The HaPenny Bridge Inn has come to an end but a new stint at the Mercantile should cheer fans of this stellar country sextet who mix foot-stomping Americana and wry ballads Tonight, The Mercantile 28 Dame St D2, 9pm, free. Tel: (01) 670 7100. www.myspace.com/ sickandindigent songclub Today: Julie Walters, from recent interviews On being disillusioned with politics: Politicians? They are slippery, evasive, irresponsible liars in the main. Its got to the point where I dont want to vote for any of them when the general elections come around. I really dont. On her initial nerves over playing Mo Mowlam in the recent Channel4 drama based on the outspoken politicians life, Mo: I dont look anything like her at all facially. It was like asking Daniel Craig to play Gerry Adams. We are poles apart... My agent said, in her own particular way, With respect, thats b***ocks. Get the wig and the glasses on and youll be fine. On shaving her head for the role: I looked like Harry Hill... I felt terribly sad when I shaved my head. Inexplicably sad. Its like feeling more naked than you could possibly ever feel if you took your clothes off. On why she loves playing old ladies: The reason I find old people endlessly fascinating is because of my maternal grandmother. She was completely doolally but I swear she took a turn for Hes already sold out two nights at the O2 so dont miss this final chance to catch the hip- shaking sexagenarian in action. Rods latest album Soulbook features duets with Smokey Robinson and Stevie Wonder but fans will surely be hoping to hear tracks from his illustrious back- catalogue, which includes Maggie May, Do You Think Im Sexy? and I Dont Want To Talk About It. And while most men of his age would be thinking about slowing down Rods already expressed his hopes of becoming a dad again. There really is no stopping the man 31 Jul, The O2, East Link Bridge, North Wall Quay D1, 7.30pm, 65.70 to 91.25. Tel: 0818 719 300. www.theo2. ie/event/rod-stewart Book Now Rod Stewart index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html24.html25.html26.html27.html