LIMBONG: It's an ethos that's been present in his work from his early short films to, of course, "Pink Flamingos."ĭIVINE: (As Divine/Babs Johnson) Good morning, Mama. Why not try to write your first novel when you're mid-70s? I want to keep trying new things. WATERS: I just wanted to try something I hadn't done - same reason I took LSD when I was 70 again, the same reason I hitchhiked across America when I was 66. You can feel him grinning through the pages of the book. Through it all, Waters writes with a sort of glee, you know. And of course, Marsha's distaste for bodies and people she finds beneath her gets tested. Marsha's daughter, a trampoline addict, is trying to kill her. LIMBONG: Something happens to them on the job that even Waters doesn't want to get into. Odors are an unwanted invasion of her superiority, an interruption to her focused life. It's all dirty to her - used, stained with other people's fluids - children's tears, unwanted sperm, stray mucus, even unrequired food. WATERS: (Reading) Marsha hates anything old - antiques, vintage, collectibles. Here's Waters reading from the audio book. She's uptight and wary of any and all bodily functions. LIMBONG: They squat in empty, unused Baltimore McMansions - the way Marsha likes it. And this is that day, but she ain't paying him. WATERS: His salary is he can have sex with her once a year. WATERS: With her partner, who is her sexual slave named Darryl, who is her fake chauffeur. JOHN WATERS: Marsha Sprinkle is a woman that makes her living stealing suitcases in airports off the carousel. Here's Waters introducing us to his latest batch of freaks. Quick caution to our listeners - it's a John Waters story, so it contains graphic sexual language.ĪNDREW LIMBONG, BYLINE: There are times when reading the novel "Liarmouth" feels like delirium, which is to say it feels like a John Waters movie. John Waters has written his first novel - it's titled "Liarmouth: A Feel-Bad Romance" - and he spoke to NPR's Andrew Limbong about it. John Waters is still trying to break boundaries - just like BJ Leiderman, who writes our theme music.
John Waters's breakout film hit, "Pink Flamingos," came out 50 years ago, and for all its gratuitous sex and graphic content, it was recently chosen by the Library of Congress to join the National Film Registry.