BEST AUTHOR BEST : NELL ZINK

 

Making ends meet in the U.S. limited her writing to '' a two page story every three months. At that rate, a novel would take 25 years. Now based in Germany, she's about to publish her sixth, '' Sister Europe.''

.-  What books are on your night stand?

I keep a cot in the hallway just for sleeping.  There's no reading lamp. In related news, I sleep like a marmot.

.-  What's the last great book you read?

'' Wie eine Trane im Ozean '' [ '' Like a Tear in the Ocean'' ], by Manes Sperber. It's a trilogy in one volume about post Austro-Hungarian communist intellectuals trapped between Hitler and Stalin, first published in a French translation starting in 1949. It rocked my world.

.-  Can a great book be badly written? What other criteria can overcome bad prose?

Ideally, non-writers with stories to tell would all have their personal Svetlana Alexieviches -eloquent ghlostwriters who take their side - but off course many don't.

If I keep reading something despite an annoying style, it must have documentary value of some kind.

.-  What do you read when you're working on a book? And what kind of reading do you avoid while writing?

I avoid sloppy English with diction errors. I mean, I always avoid it, but when I'm working on a project, I want my input to be especially articulate and concise.

I tend not to read fiction when I'm composing a novel, because I'd rather stay wrapped up in my own characters.

.-  '' Sister Europe '' is the story of a party that doesn't stop. Do you have a favorite party scene?

Williamsburg, Va., in the 1980s.

.-  How would your work be different if you lived in the United States?

It probably wouldn't exist. When I lived stateside, I had to work full time for health insurance and to make rent, I turned out a two-page story every three months. At that rate a novel would take 25 years.

The Publishing continues to Part [2]

The World Students Society thanks The New York Times.