see page history
Overview edit
Bibliography
-
(2010)
Half Life
-
(2009)
Corner Shop
-
(2009)
The Way Things Look to Me
-
(2007)
Bitter Sweets
Unbound edit
This content section has been deprecated.
Please help us clean up the page by moving the content from this section into other relevant sections. Once it has been emptied this section will no longer appear on the page but the edit history will still be available in the page's history.
What is your own Asian background?
Like the twin boys in my novel (Bitter Sweets), my father was Pakistani, and my mother is Bangladeshi. I was born in Pakistan in 1974, but my family moved to London when I was seven months old; by the time I was sixteen I had taken dual British/Pakistani citizenship. My family was always rather international and relaxed with regard to our Muslim faith; when my parents separated, my father married a Chinese-American Catholic, and my mother’s long term partner (who gave me away at my wedding) is English-Iraqi of Jewish origin. My sisters and I were brought up in a liberal environment where we were free to date or drink without censure, but still retained our Muslim identity. No eyebrows were raised in the extended family when I married my Anglo-Irish husband in a civil ceremony (I wore a sari, he wore a suit), although my aunt did express astonishment some years later when I explained that I’d left him at home that day to look after our baby by himself; “But he’s a man! Are you sure he’s capable?”
Are there any writers that you think have influenced your work?
I’m not sure if my actual writing has been obviously influenced by particular authors; in fact, I make it a point not to read any fiction at all when I write, to avoid getting drawn into another writer’s tone of voice. That said, I really admire some of the novels of Anita Desai, Kazuo Ishiguro and Margaret Atwood – their writing is lyrical and effortless, and reading their books made me want to be a writer myself.
You used to work in advertising before you started writing. Do you prefer being a writer?
Absolutely – I had some fun times in advertising, but there’s no competition. Like all writers, I feel deeply privileged to be able to do something that I really love for a living. (And being a writer gives you an excuse to float about cafés, have unfeasibly long bubble baths and indulge in sinful patisserie during a normal working day.)
What is your favourite time of day to write?
Mid-morning to mid-afternoon (with tea and biscuits and laptop, stretched out on my bed or on the sofa)
What’s the first book you remember falling in love with?
The Iliad by Homer – I read it when I was ten and obsessed with Greek mythology; it’s still one of my favourite books.
Which book do you wish you had written and why?
Winnie-the-Pooh by AA Milne – I rediscovered it by reading it to my toddler, it’s just the perfect book for children, the charm is timeless and universal.
Where is your favourite place in the world?
Angkor Wat in Cambodia – the scattered buildings of the ancient temple city are magical; I first went there when I was a backpacking student.
If you had three wishes, what would they be?
I guess the usual: World Peace, An End to World Poverty, and three more wishes…
What is your favourite film?
My Fair Lady – I’m embarrassed to admit that I frequently hum the songs to myself, and even quoted one in Bitter Sweets at vast personal expense.
If you could invite three fictional characters to a dinner party at your house, who would they be?
It would be fun to have Mr Rochester, Mr Darcy and Heathcliff round for dinner to entertain my single girlfriends. Or I could re-create the Mad Hatter’s tea party for my little boy.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to be a writer?
Once you’ve written something you’re proud of, be professional and persistent in approaching literary agents and publishers - read the books on making effective submissions, and then put yourself in every slush pile and competition you can. If your work is good, you’ll get noticed eventually, even if it takes months and years. And once you’ve finished writing your first book, don’t put off writing your second; lots of authors don’t get their first effort published, and if you have two books under your belt you’ll have demonstrated to agents and publishers that you’re a serious writer, and not a one-trick pony.
http://www.panmacmillan.com/displayPage.asp?PageID=4747
Like the twin boys in my novel (Bitter Sweets), my father was Pakistani, and my mother is Bangladeshi. I was born in Pakistan in 1974, but my family moved to London when I was seven months old; by the time I was sixteen I had taken dual British/Pakistani citizenship. My family was always rather international and relaxed with regard to our Muslim faith; when my parents separated, my father married a Chinese-American Catholic, and my mother’s long term partner (who gave me away at my wedding) is English-Iraqi of Jewish origin. My sisters and I were brought up in a liberal environment where we were free to date or drink without censure, but still retained our Muslim identity. No eyebrows were raised in the extended family when I married my Anglo-Irish husband in a civil ceremony (I wore a sari, he wore a suit), although my aunt did express astonishment some years later when I explained that I’d left him at home that day to look after our baby by himself; “But he’s a man! Are you sure he’s capable?”
Are there any writers that you think have influenced your work?
I’m not sure if my actual writing has been obviously influenced by particular authors; in fact, I make it a point not to read any fiction at all when I write, to avoid getting drawn into another writer’s tone of voice. That said, I really admire some of the novels of Anita Desai, Kazuo Ishiguro and Margaret Atwood – their writing is lyrical and effortless, and reading their books made me want to be a writer myself.
You used to work in advertising before you started writing. Do you prefer being a writer?
Absolutely – I had some fun times in advertising, but there’s no competition. Like all writers, I feel deeply privileged to be able to do something that I really love for a living. (And being a writer gives you an excuse to float about cafés, have unfeasibly long bubble baths and indulge in sinful patisserie during a normal working day.)
What is your favourite time of day to write?
Mid-morning to mid-afternoon (with tea and biscuits and laptop, stretched out on my bed or on the sofa)
What’s the first book you remember falling in love with?
The Iliad by Homer – I read it when I was ten and obsessed with Greek mythology; it’s still one of my favourite books.
Which book do you wish you had written and why?
Winnie-the-Pooh by AA Milne – I rediscovered it by reading it to my toddler, it’s just the perfect book for children, the charm is timeless and universal.
Where is your favourite place in the world?
Angkor Wat in Cambodia – the scattered buildings of the ancient temple city are magical; I first went there when I was a backpacking student.
If you had three wishes, what would they be?
I guess the usual: World Peace, An End to World Poverty, and three more wishes…
What is your favourite film?
My Fair Lady – I’m embarrassed to admit that I frequently hum the songs to myself, and even quoted one in Bitter Sweets at vast personal expense.
If you could invite three fictional characters to a dinner party at your house, who would they be?
It would be fun to have Mr Rochester, Mr Darcy and Heathcliff round for dinner to entertain my single girlfriends. Or I could re-create the Mad Hatter’s tea party for my little boy.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to be a writer?
Once you’ve written something you’re proud of, be professional and persistent in approaching literary agents and publishers - read the books on making effective submissions, and then put yourself in every slush pile and competition you can. If your work is good, you’ll get noticed eventually, even if it takes months and years. And once you’ve finished writing your first book, don’t put off writing your second; lots of authors don’t get their first effort published, and if you have two books under your belt you’ll have demonstrated to agents and publishers that you’re a serious writer, and not a one-trick pony.
http://www.panmacmillan.com/displayPage.asp?PageID=4747
