Nikesh Shukla: Find The Stories That Move You

Nikesh Shukla is a writer and his debut novel, Coconut Unlimited, was shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award in 2010 and long listed for the Desmond Elliott Prize in 2011. Nikesh followed his success with a Sabotage Award winning novella entitled The Time Machine, the royalties of which were donated to the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation. Nikesh Shukla released his second novel in 2015, it was entitled Meatspace and was described by The Guardian as ‘a novel that captures a cultural moment’. In 2016, Nikesh Shukla edited a collection essays called The Good Immigrant, a project that involved 21 British writers of colour discussing race and immigration. Not limited to writing books, Nikesh also co-wrote an award-winning short film entitled Two Dosas, and is also the host of The Subaltern podcast, an anti-panel discussion about writing. Nikesh Shukla is a prolific writer and I was honoured to get a chance to talk books with him. Please enjoy my interview with the wonderful Nikesh Shukla…

When someone asks you ‘what do you do for a living?’ – How do you respond?

I write books and work with young people.

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What are you reading at the moment?

I just finished a re-read of Exit West by Mohsin Hamid for a review. I’m about to start The Refugees by Viet Thanh Nguyen.

What’s your earliest memory of reading?

I had a canvas bag of Amar Chitra Katha comics about various Hindu deities. I used to sit in the bunk bed I shared with my 16-year-old uncle (I was 4/5) and read the comics while he studied for his O levels.

If you could encourage young people to read one book in particular, what would it be?

Anything they want to. I hate that we prescribe a canon to young people. It really puts them off the discovery of stories that appeal to them. So, they should read anything they want to.

What is the worst job you’ve ever had?

Writing copy for a travel website. I was woefully out of my depth and interest level.

Do you read as much as you’d like to?

Not anymore. I have a kid. I do re-read picture books to my child repeatedly. So I guess that counts as reading time. I miss my London commute. Two solid reading hours.

What books do you feel are important reading for people on your career path?

I repeat what I said early. Read what you want to. Find the stories that move you. Read as much as you can. Reading and writing voraciously makes you a better writer.

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Is there a book that you’ve read more than once? What is it and why did you revisit it?

I’ve re-read Drinking Coffee Elsewhere by ZZ Packer, Family Life by Akhil Sharma and The Brief And Wondrous Life Of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz repeatedly. I love them so much. They have taught me so much about writing, about being a writer of colour and about myself.

What book have you recommended the most to friends and family?

My own. I need the sales.

What’s your favourite genre of book?

I really dislike the type of literary fiction where a middle aged, middle class white creative writing professor has sex with an impossibly attractive younger student and then has a bit of a sad think for 250 pages. Apart from that, I read pretty widely.

What do you think a world without books would be like?

Empathy-less.

Is there an author whose writing you’re such a fan of, that you’ll read everything they release?

Junot Diaz, Zadie Smith, ZZ Packer, Claudia Rankine, Akhil Sharma, Teju Cole, Mohsin Hamid, Evie Wyld, Anjali Joseph. I have a lot of favs.

Do you think digital books will ever completely replace real books?

Yes. Because climate change deniers rule the free world and I’m scared to think what’ll happen to the environment.

What book do you feel humanity needs right now?

Michael Rosen’s Sad Book by Michael Rosen, probably. It helped me with my grief. If not that, then Nasty Women edited by 404 Ink, The Power by Naomi Alderman, Between The World And Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates, A Country Of Refuge by Lucy Popescu. Or even The Good Immigrant.

What is the book that you feel has had the single biggest impact on your life?

The Buddha Of Suburbia by Hanif Kureishi. The moment I picked it out of the library and read the first sentence about how Karim Amir was an Englishman born and bred, almost. And I was changed forever.

The Buddha Of Suburbia by Hanif KureishiThe Buddha Of Suburbia by Hanif Kureishi

Are there any books you haven’t mentioned that you feel would make your reading list?

I read a lot of Spider-Man comics. Spidey has been my constant since I was a child.

What books or subject matter do you plan on reading in the next year?

I will continue prioritising work by writers of colour. Apart from that, I want to balance out the light and the dark. I really want to read a funny novel.

If you were to write an autobiography – what would it be called?

He Tried His Best. It Was Enough.

If you’d like to learn more about Nikesh Shukla, you can find him on his website and Twitter.

Image Credit: ShamPhat Photography