Gossip. What does it do? Why do we love it? And do we need it? In Joseph Epstein’s latest book, Gossip: The Untrivial Pursuit, he answers these questions in a tone that one would use in a dimly lit bar at the third or fourth drink. But of course, the topic is none other than gossip, and the book’s debaucheries spare no one.
Let’s say you’re like me: the tabloids at the grocery line don’t catch your eye and you’re genuinely uninterested in the size of Anthony Weiner’s text message history? Well, what if you heard that the President of Tunisia keeps a pet tiger in his palace? Or that Greece might possibly leave the Euro-zone? Or that your brother-in-law has too much lithium leftover at the end of the month?
Epstein argues that as much as gossip destructs, we often overlook its democratizing abilities to mobilize—or at least avert—disaster. Among the many, he calls out a few disguises that gossip often takes: character analysis, the modern sin, and, truest of all, the great achievement of humanity. If any of these comes as a shock or an exaggeration, well, what did you expect? It’s gossip.
Epstein joined me over email to talk about the subject of his book and why it might be misunderstood in today’s culture. An edited version of our conversation appears below.
Forbes: So what is untrivial about gossip? What are its unsung virtues?
Joseph Epstein: Two things: First, it can be crucial to your career or even your life. If you are working for a large corporation, for example, it would be worth your while to attend to gossip about the CEO showing signs of undergoing a nervous breakdown; or if you are in contention for a vice-presidency at the same corporation, it might be more than merely useful to know that another person in contention for the job happens to be sleeping with your boss.
Second, gossip is distinctly untrivial in that more and more of the news is gossip-laden: consider here only the recent DominqueStrass-Kahn and Herman Cain stories. Gossip has also played a larger and larger role in contemporary politics. At bottom, government leaks are little more than gossip gone political.
Based on the culture and generation we live in now, do you think gossip needs to be more shocking?
Not all gossip need be shocking, though shock can add a touch of piquancy to gossip. Nor is all gossip about what I think of as “sexcapades.” The best gossip has a strong touch of the amusing; it highlights the human foibles of vanity, pretensions, hypocrisy. The English have been rather better than we at telling gossip charmingly, though in their gutter press they also tell it more blatantly.
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