The 1961 Club

Ooops, I did it again! I bought a novel I had been circling for a few months: VERNON GOD LITTLE by DBC Pierre. What's not to like about this novel? An adolescent boy with a filthy mouth....yeah, that's right up my alley!

Another thing I noticed when I looked at the back of the book jacket is that DBC Pierre was born in 1961. That was the clincher. Because I was born in 1961, I feel compelled to read authors that were born in MY year.

It wasn't always that way. When I was in my mid-20s, I was jealous as hell of anyone my age or younger that had written a book. I'd pass by a book of David Leavitt's short stories in the library, take it off the shelf, scowl miserably at his birthdate, then re-shelve the book. You can imagine my reaction when Bret Easton Ellis (b. 1964) came out with LESS THAN ZERO!

I don't know when the jealousy went away. These days, I'm proud and pleased when I see a 1961 author: Douglas Coupland, Chuck Palahniuk, Laurie Halse Anderson, and now DBC Pierre. I'm sure there are more 1961 authors. I just need to find them.