Alain de Botton Interview in Bookslut

Bookslut published an interview with Alain de Botton. (Thanks for the link, Jess!) I particularly enjoy his comparison of graffiti to garden gnomes. Unlikely as the pairing may seem, I rather agree. He's wonderfully eloquent and I thoroughly suggest you read it -- and everything that Alain has ever written.

Do you still believe in the Stendhal quote, “Beauty is the promise of happiness”?

I think it’s a very handy way of getting to the core of something. When people go “Oh, that chair is beautiful,” or “That table is beautiful,” really what we are saying is, you imagine being happy around that chair. It’s a nicely psychological -- and in a way -- literary way of looking at the visual. It is making up little stories about it. I can imagine a happy little story. It’s what happens with people as well, when you see someone who looks attractive, very often you think, “This is someone I could be happy with.” You invent a short little story with what life could be like with that person. The same thing happens with visual objects: chairs, paintings, buildings…

*Sigh.* I can definitely think of a short little story with what life would be like.