VOLLMANNN

INTERVIEWER:
I've heard that you bought a ten-year-old prostitute out of servitude.


VOLLMANN:
Oh, I did that in Thailand. That Afghanistan book is all about how I tried to help people and failed. Even the book itself was a failure—not a perfect book and it sold terribly. Everything has been totally consistent about it.


INTERVIEWER:
It's a masterpiece in its own way.


VOLLMANN:
A masterpiece of failure.