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John Darnielle Explores The Eerie Side Of Iowa With ‘Universal Harvester’

WUNC | By Frank Stasio,
Charlie Shelton
Published February 21, 2017 at 12:11 PM EST
Musician and writer John Darnielle of the Durham-based folk band The Mountain Goats sets his new novel "Universal Harvester" in the cornfields rural Iowa, where he once lived.
Brandon Eggleston
Musician and writer John Darnielle of the Durham-based folk band The Mountain Goats sets his new novel "Universal Harvester" in the cornfields rural Iowa, where he once lived.
Musician and writer John Darnielle of the Durham-based folk band The Mountain Goats sets his new novel "Universal Harvester" in the cornfields rural Iowa, where he once lived.
Credit Brandon Eggleston
Musician and writer John Darnielle of the Durham-based folk band The Mountain Goats sets his new novel "Universal Harvester" in the cornfields rural Iowa, where he once lived.

In his new novel “Universal Harvester” (Farrar, Straus, Giraux/2017), writer and musician JohnDarniellerevisits an era about 20 years ago when video rentals were in high demand. The book features a young man named JeremyHeldtwho works at a video store in rural Iowa.Heldtdiscovers that somebody is splicing mysterious footage into some of the tapes.

International Harvester

The scenes are ominous, and Heldt decides to search for the culprit. The character and stories stem from Darnielle’s experience living in rural Iowa. Along with being a writer, Darnielle is also the band leader of the Durham-based folk band The Mountain Goats. Host Frank Stasio talks with John Darnielle about his new novel and why the cornfields of Iowa make a good setting for a thriller. ​ 

Copyright 2017 North Carolina Public Radio
Frank Stasio
Longtime NPR correspondent Frank Stasio was named permanent host of The State of Things in June 2006. A native of Buffalo, Frank has been in radio since the age of 19. He began his public radio career at WOI in Ames, Iowa, where he was a magazine show anchor and the station's News Director.
See stories by Frank Stasio
Charlie Shelton