The Business of Blowing Shit Up: David Shields on Trump, Media, and Being Prolific

and I met almost 30 years ago, just after the publication of his breakthrough second novel, , at the sadly now defunct Bailey/Coy Bookstore in Seattle. We’ve been discussing and debating literature and media ever since. The occasion of this conversation is the release of his 21st book, , which I was lucky enough to read as it evolved through several drafts. “I wasn’t going to read it because I’m so tired of anti- shit,” says about the book, “but I love the book, agree with everything Shields nails about this moment. It’s the best summation of Trump I’ve come across. Such a relief to see someone get it. I was reading passages to my millennial Communist ‘Trump is going to kill us all’ bf, who didn’t say