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Is it possible to be a good writer without being a good reader? I don’t think it is. Perhaps there have been exceptions – people who are so attuned to the beauty of the spoken word that they can spontaneously come up with a piece of writing that is clear and precise and wise and witty and beautiful. But in my experience, being a good reader is fundamental to the process of writing. Every single book and article I read, I try to learn from. According to a report of the Independent Book Publishing Association, over five million American adults belong to reading groups. What, do you believe, is the basis for this country's love for literature and books? It is one of the many things that I love about this country. People here join groups. They form communities that are based more on affinity and shared ideas than on unthinking custom. America is an extremely individualistic society, and Americans don’t depend on their bloodline as much as other people do. And one of the ways to develop communities based on shared ideas is to discuss and debate together. Perhaps it has something to do with Americans’ extreme mobility; people here are far more likely to move house and job than they are in Europe. But I think it may also be linked to the conception of this country - instead of a King or a single Church, this country is founded on political theory. Have you ever belonged to a reading group? Not formally, no. But everywhere I’ve lived, ever since I was a child, I’ve had close friendships, and almost every close friendship I have has been symbolized and enriched by our exchange of beloved books. What advice do you have for reading group members when it comes to selecting books for discussion? Avoid the bland, and go for the unexpected. Controversy is good. I think an ideal reading group would be one that sparks new ideas and vivid debate. If some people hate a book and others love it, that is an ideal book for a reading group. What books are you reading now or do you plan to read? The book at the top of the pile on my bedside table is Portrait of a Lady by Henry James. What an extraordinary writer he is. I lack a strong basis in the American classics. Part of me is ashamed of that. But part of me looks at it as an opportunity: I can discover these books now, in my 30s, when I’m ready for them. They truly illuminate my life. If you were stuck on a deserted island and could only bring one book with you to read, what would it be and why? The Complete Shakespeare. Is that cheating? Or perhaps I should pick something very practical, maybe a guide to building a raft. I don’t think I could survive for long on a desert island, even with Shakespeare to keep me company. I need people around me. If you could have dinner with three writers (dead or alive) who would they be and why? At the moment I’m working on a rather unusual project -- an account of a debate, which takes place in the New York Public Library, between the Prophet Mohamed (accompanied by two of his wives, Khadija and Aisha) and three philosophers: John Stuart Mill (who will debate the equality of women), Friedrich Hayek (on economics), and Karl Popper (on freedom of thought). It’s sort of a cross between fiction and popular philosophy. So I would leap, absolutely leap, at the chance to talk to those three philosophers. And to chat with the Prophet Mohamed himself – that would be simply astounding. So may I have four, please? Have you ever read anything you're too embarrassed to admit (except in this interview)? I’m not embarrassed by anything I read. As I recount in Infidel, as a teenager I devoured huge amounts of trashy, sexy literature of the Harlequin romance variety, as well as Harold Robbins and Danielle Steele. I was a fiend for this stuff. People pooh-pooh these books. But they are openly sexual, and the women in these books are free, they make their own choices, they largely own their own bodies. This was a shock to me, as a Somali, a Muslim girl growing up in Kenya. In my experience, waking up my own sexuality – through this compulsive reading of so-called “trash” -- was the beginning of waking up to my need and right to make my own choices about my own body. And ultimately that led to my development of my own, independent ideas. So I feel quite grateful to Harlequin, and to the whole bodice-ripping genre. Favorite book when you were a child? Nancy Drew, hands down. A girl of independence, wit and pluck. If you have children, is this the same book you read to them? If not, what is your favorite book for your children? I don’t have children. It depends on the age of the child, of course. I would read the Arabian Nights and the Greek and Roman myths and the Brothers Grimm too. And I strongly believe in moving with the times. Probably a girl growing up in America today wouldn't be animated by Nancy Drew, as I was, living in Kenya. Favorite heroine in literature and why? Right now, Isabel Archer in Henry James. I change all the time. I reread Madame Bovary a few weeks ago – I love that book, it's such scathing criticism of the society and politics of France in the 19th century. She is portrayed as trapped in a prison of dullness, self-involved, always looking over the threshold but too cowardly to take the steps necessary to emancipate herself from the chains of custom. Flaubert is a master in showing that her infidelity and hypocrisy is a reflection of his socity in his day. It is a masterpiece. The American Isabel is free, fresh and faithful. Nothing like poor madame Bovary; but it's clear that for both, being a woman is a very constricted destiny that depends on some man for happiness. Favorite hero in literature and why? I’m thinking now of Robinson Crusoe – the rum-drinking old man in Treasure Island. But that was such a long time ago. Another author I’m reading right now is Frederick Douglass. Christopher Hitchens, for whom I have great respect and affection, recommended him to me. I’ve become aware of how superficial my knowledge is of the slave period in America. I knew about slavery in Africa, I knew roughly about plantations and the Civil War, but I really didn’t know much about the lives of slaves here before I picked up Frederick Douglass. He really was a hero. Words to live by? “Live, laugh and love.” Tomorrow we die, you know. This is not just true for me, but for us all. We should enjoy life and live well – well in the sense of living by our own ethical standards – while it lasts, because this is it, people: life is now.
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