I keep giving Bono copies of Hemingway's Garden of Eden and he

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keeps losing them. I've told him he'll recognize himself. Occasionally he'll say to me, out of the blue, "I misplaced that last copy of Garden of Eden you gave me but I will get another and I will read it."

It's an amazing novel for anyone who supports himself doing any­thing creative, and for anyone wrestling with celebrity. It begins with a young writer on his honeymoon. He has married a wealthy young woman and they are on a romantic tour of the Mediterranean. In the early part of the book the writer is living completely in the real world— he devotes great attention to the taste of food, the feeling of sun and swimming and bicycling, and the joy of sex with his new bride. His work, writing his next novel, is simply something he goes off and does for a few hours every day; it is one aspect of his life but not in any way the center of his attention. But as the story progresses his devotion becomes divided between the real world and the world of his creation— not just his fiction but his emerging public image as a tough-talking macho man. That image is not exactly accurate—the writer is actually less sure of himself and far more emotionally complex than this cartoon persona, but he is flattered by the praise and kind of likes the notion of himself as a literary cowboy. It hurts his feelings when his wife brings him down to earth.

Over the course of the novel the writer becomes increasingly con­fused by the real world in which his authority comes and goes, his wife's sexual courage begins to intimidate him, and he is unsure where he stands from day to day. He is more and more drawn to the world of his fiction, where he has absolute authority, and to the life of his public image, which is simple, black and white, and wins him the applause of strangers. When The Garden of Eden begins, the writer's attention is focused on the real world and his work is just a pleasant job. By the end of the book he is living completely inside his fiction, and the real world is just where he goes to eat and sleep.

Bono is hung halfway between the two ends of that book. He has one foot in his home life and knows he's really Paul Hewson, husband, son, and father—and his other foot in Zoo World and knows he's really Bono, rock star, musician, and Fly. Achtung Baby was all about being at home and tempted by the buzz and bright lights of Nighttown. Zooropa is all about being out the door, on the plane, in the cabarets—and trying to remember who you used to be. The character in Achtung Baby is

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Still closer to the guy at the beginning of the Garden of Eden than the guy at the end; he still tastes and smells the real world. The character in Zooropa is over the hump and picking up speed on the descent.

Once I was shopping with Bono and he pulled out a credit card to pay for a gift. As he signed I asked what name was on the card—Paul Hewson or Bono. It turned out it was neither, it was his initials. He said, in a surprisingly aloof tone, "I don't want people in shops calling me Paul. It suggests an unwarranted familiarity." I gave him a la-di-da look. He grinned and announced, "Paul is dead!"

The Garden of Eden scenario is a real threat to successful rock musi­cians. No doubt it's a threat to celebrities and successful artists high and low, which is why Hemingway was able to nail it. Faced with the ugly equality of marriage, it's tempting for the acclaimed artist to say to his wife, "Look, I work hard, I give you everything, and in spite of what you might think of me all these thousands of people love me!" So the artist looks for his audience to give him the ego-boosting affection his wife or family is withholding or saddling with conditions. The uncritical love of the audience gives him the guts to keep going along on his self-centered way, even as his marriage dissolves. The trouble is, when the day comes that the fans no longer respond, the artist is left bitter and alone.

Does that sound like Dr. Joyce Brothers's Advice for Lonely Rock Stars and Other Big Babies'! Well, being a rock star is a rare and goofy thing to be. It's hard to hang on to any thread of normal behavior when normalcy has vanished from your life. The same part of Bono that can genuinely laugh at his own posturing and vanity keeps him conscious of how important his marriage is. He loves being a rock star because he only has to be one sometimes. I suspect that if Bono ever thought he had to be that all the time, he would quit being a rock star at all.

When we get back to the hotel I find all the others in the bar reliving the day's glories. Considering that Kevin Godley first heard of this video concept—in California—less than a week ago, its swift completion is pretty remarkable. He has no intention of going to sleep tonight—he will catch an early plane back to L.A. in the morning, and by the time he next goes to bed in California "Numb" will seem like a dream.

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