Pop icon Nick Cave (66) wrote one of the best and most important books of recent years

Nick Cave (66) is best known for his music. In the interview book ‘Faith, hope and havoc’ he reflects on his life, his art and his doubting faith. The pop icon turns out to be a wisdom teacher of Biblical proportions.

Where should you start when discussing a book that you would prefer to quote in its entirety? The conversations between Australian pop hero Cave and journalist Seán O’Hagan are so full of wise, profound observations and thought-provoking reflections that you as a reader are regularly blown off your feet.

The book is about Cave’s life and music, but even for people who are not very interested in his music, this book is a treasure trove of life wisdom. Cave and O’Hagan mainly focus on the question of what it means to be human in a world full of suffering and brokenness.

The central topic in the conversations is the death of Cave’s 15-year-old son Arthur and how it changed his life and his thinking. He speaks openly about grief and the grieving process. And about how he was able to give meaning to this with the help of his art, his hesitant, searching religiosity and, above all, his connection with others.

Feeling, searching and doubting

In this book, Cave reveals himself as a man who proclaims his vision of life very approachably and with humor, thinking more deeply than many philosophers or theologians. Who is subscribed to The Red Hand Files , the website where he answers questions from fans, has known this Nick Cave for a while. In Faith, hope and havoc Read how that came about.

Cave talks beautifully about the importance of making the album Ghosteen after Arthur’s death (“Personally, I think his spirit is present in this work. And I don’t even mean that metaphorically, I mean it literally”). Groping, searching and doubting, Cave continually searches for words for the unspeakable.

“When Arthur died, I was filled with internal chaos, a thunderous physical feeling throughout my being, and also a looming sense of impending doom. I remember literally feeling it flow through my body and bursting out at my fingertips.”

‘Dying and being reborn’

But it is also about the constructive power of grief, and the hope, connection and love that the grieving process can bring. “I think this is essentially what life means: dying and being reborn. And sometimes that happens many times, that complex process where you have to put yourself back together again.”

Sorry, these are way too short quotes! And far too little! Faith, hope and havoc is the best, deepest, most important and most moving book I have read in recent years. With one downside: too much is assumed to be known. Why no nuts?