BEST AUTHOR BEST : HANIF KUREISHI [ 2 ]

 

.-  WHAT was the challenge of editing these writings into a book?

The original blogs were dictated to my partner, Isabella d' Amico, and my sons in very difficult circumstances.

I was in bad physical and psychological  condition in various hospitals. The following year Simon Prosser, my renowned editor, came to the house day after day, working with my son Carlo and me to create a tight and sharp version of the blogs, a more coherent narrative, which could be read all the way through.

.-  At one point, you bemoan the absense of  explicit security in great literature, wishing you could learn what some '' favorite characters did in bed.'' Which ones?

I think of the characters in Dostoyevsky,  an author who fascinated me when I was young. His people are weird and often perverse.

But you always feel with him that you are not hearing the whole story, as with many authors, particularly homosexuals.

.-  Your 2017 novel '' The Nothing '' is about a man in a wheelchair who requires steady care.  Have you looked at it since your injury?

I never look at my books again unless I have to adapt them for another form, as I did recently with my first novel, '' The Buddha of Suburbia,'' which was staged by the Royal Shakespeare Company.

As for '' The Nothing,'' I'm aware it reflects some of my present condition of physical helplessness and frustration.

.-  You're organizing a literary dinner party. Which three writers, dead or alive, do you invite?

Certainly my dear friend Zadie Smith, whose company I love - a woman full of gossip, filth and gorgeous, intelligent storytelling.

I would also invite my pal Salman Rushdie, a brilliant raconteur and fabulous companion, full of jokes and fun.

Franz Kafka would be a wonderful addition to the party : I believe he was a witty and wicked companion.

Zadie, Salman and I could ask him what has gone wrong with the world?

The World Students Society thanks The New York Times.