Words At Large

The British novelist Hari Kunzru made a splash with his first novel, The Impressionist (Penguin), and was rapidly hailed as one of the country’s most promising writers. His fourth book and latest novel, My Revolutionss (Dutton Adult), is another compelling take on modern life.

Eleanor Wachtel recently interviewed the London author for Writers & Company. In their delightful conversation, Kunzru talks about his Anglo-Indian background and about writing a novel set in the 1960s, a decade he only saw as a baby, since he was born in 1969.

Kunzru’s debut novel garnered a great deal of praise and several major awards. In 2003, he was included in Granta magazine’s influential list of 20 "Best of Young British Novelists." In the midst of all the acclaim, he did what few emerging writers would dare.

In 2003, he was awarded the prestigious John Llewellyn Rhys prize for writers under 35, and turned it down. Kunzru said that he couldn’t accept a prize backed by the Daily Mail, a newspaper full of "hostility towards black and Asian people."

In My Revolutions, Kunzru departs from the satirical tone of his previous novels and their focus on issues of race. His new book doesn’t have any Asian characters. It’s the story of a Caucasian man whose comfortable suburban life is threatened by a person who knows about his past as a violent radical.

Kunzru studied English at Oxford University, and has an MA in philosophy and literature from Warwick University. He is a freelance journalist and editor, and has written for numerous publications including the Guardian, the Daily Telegraph, the Economist, and Wired magazine.

Listen to Eleanor Wachtel’s conversation with Hari Kunzru here:

First aired June 8, 2008 on Writers & Company. [runs 52:39]