Author Joe Dunthorne shares his personal reflections on literature, including experiencing Thomas Hardy’s emotional depth, being misled by Donna Tartt’s storytelling, and the pivotal moment his sister’s copy of ‘Trainspotting’ inspired him to write.
My Earliest Reading Memory
It wasn’t until I began reading Shirley Hughes’ Alfie stories to my own children that I fully grasped how intimately I knew them. Each reading session transports me back 40 years to my attic room in Swansea, witnessing my father turning those very same pages.
My Favourite Book Growing Up
At the age of 10, my literary world consisted solely of Terry Pratchett. I genuinely believed no other authors existed. While I adored his entire body of work, ‘Mort’ held a special place. The story follows the titular character, Death’s apprentice, as he learns the trade: making his rounds, encountering those nearing their end, and collecting their souls. I appreciated how Pratchett humanized the afterlife, presenting it as mundane, almost bureaucratic, with the Grim Reaper depicted as a universally disliked figure, much like a tax collector.
English Translation:
Joe Dunthorne: ‘Growing Up in Swansea, I Developed an Allergy to Dylan Thomas’
Author Joe Dunthorne shares his personal reflections on literature, including experiencing Thomas Hardy’s emotional depth, being misled by Donna Tartt’s storytelling, and the pivotal moment his sister’s copy of ‘Trainspotting’ inspired him to write.
My Earliest Reading Memory
It wasn’t until I began reading Shirley Hughes’ Alfie stories to my own children that I fully grasped how intimately I knew them. Each reading session transports me back 40 years to my attic room in Swansea, witnessing my father turning those very same pages.
My Favourite Book Growing Up
At the age of 10, my literary world consisted solely of Terry Pratchett. I genuinely believed no other authors existed. While I adored his entire body of work, ‘Mort’ held a special place. The story follows the titular character, Death’s apprentice, as he learns the trade: making his rounds, encountering those nearing their end, and collecting their souls. I appreciated how Pratchett humanized the afterlife, presenting it as mundane, almost bureaucratic, with the Grim Reaper depicted as a universally disliked figure, much like a tax collector.