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Mon, 09/29/2008

September 29th, 2008 by Adriano Sack:

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Frequently Asked Questions (to myself):

Why this book now?

Drugs seem to be a rather timeless subject (check the opium recipes of the ancient Romans in our book) but lately there were a lot of celebrities struggling with substance use and abuse. The craze and hypocrisy surrounding these stories caused a) an unsurpressable curiosity regarding the effect of drugs on people, politics and culture and b) an urge to take a sober look on drugs: nonjudgmental, bipartisan and thorough.

Where does this book come from?

The idea was born in a bar in Berlin/Mitte - probably one of the most likely places to come up with such a concept given the reputation of Berlin as one of the world capitals of recreational excesses. Right after agreeing on form and subject of the book I moved to New York and my co-author Ingo Niermann climbed Mount Kilimandjaro. The Curious World of Drugs and Their Friends was written between Kathmandu, Damascus, Fire Island and San Francisco. This required a lot of e-mailing and a few bouts of jetlag. But even our friendship endured.

Is this a confessional book?

Not really. Even our generous advance would not have been sufficient to try all the substances mentioned in our book.

Nothing autobiographical at all?

There is one horror trip probably worth mentioning that took place in the Mexican desert. In a local museum Ingo had learned that the native people used to eat huge amounts of hallucinogenic Peyote. Out of ethnological thirst for knowledge he forced himself to swallow half a dozen of the bitter fruits. Soon the stomach cramps started, then his whole body was cramping as well as the entire world including millions of cacti, sun, moon and stars. 24 hours later the nightmare was over, 7 days later the physical hangover, too.

What connects drugs and books?

Not only "Alice in Wonderland", but also many of the tales of the Brothers Grimm are essentially reports about mind expanding experiences. Reading itself can induce a high and this effect follows similar rules as the effect of drugs: it depends very much on quality, quantity and mental state of the user. Even cheap and bad literature can get you high (so called guilty pleasures), but if it is of higher quality and uncut it can also change your perception and your life. And a good book can keep you awake all night.

Some photos from the bookparty for The Curious World of Drugs and Their Friends at Schlechtriem Contemporary on September 12th 2008: