Andy Black
asked
Lawrence Wright:
I want to ask about The Looming Tower. When you came to write it did you intend to portray O’Neill and Bin Laden as antithetical characters in a game of cat and mouse or was that largely dictated by reality? And did you intend for O’Neill to act as a metaphor for America - its vices and virtues?
Lawrence Wright
O'Neill was too complicated a personality to be in any sense metaphorical. He was a terrific character to write about, and heartbreaking--flawed, wounded, but also heroic and right. In some ways there were parallels between him and bin Laden, and yes, I thought they were worth highlighting.
More Answered Questions
Teddy Sims
asked
Lawrence Wright:
What do you think are the most pressing international security threats?
Bryan
asked
Lawrence Wright:
Your non-fiction works have been enjoyable and practical for me in understanding places I have lived (Afghanistan, Egypt, and Texas). Your previous books have been primarily (entirely?) non-fiction. Have you had the idea for a long time that you would like to do a novel? Have you had characters or outlines of characters already developed that needed to be put into a story or did they come together with the plot?
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more