London based Indian writer Neel Mukerhjee was nominated for the Man booker prize in 2014 for his brilliant third book 'The Lives of Others', not the first nomination the writer has had in his career which started in 2008, his first novel 'Past Continuous' won awards both here and in India, where it won the Indian GQ's book of the year, and his second book 'A Life Apart' was also highly praised by critics.
What is the first book you remember reading?
The
New Radiant Reader, Book 1 or 2, I forget which.
What effect does being an author have on you as a reader?
I
am much more conscious of technical things while reading a book now, things
such as tectonics (structure, carpentry, etc), the release and pacing of
information, deliberate repetitions and echoes, metaphorical underpinnings.
Are there any books you can read again and again?
Oh
yes. I'll name just five (out of dozens) in no particular order:
i)
Anna Karenina.
ii)
The Gate of Angels by Penelope Fitzgerald.
iii)
Middlemarch.
iv)
Watt by Samuel Beckett.
v)
Voss by Patrick White.
Are there any genres that you wouldn’t choose to read?
I'm
not very good with commercial women's fiction, or romance, or action.
What is the current book on your nightstand/coffee table?
Several:
Acceptance by Jeff VanderMeer, Happy Valley by Patrick White, the new OUP
translation (by Rosamund Bartlett) of Anna Karenina.
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