Scottish author Jenni Fagan, known for her novel The Delusions, has shared her literary journey in a recent interview, revealing the books that shaped her life and writing. From childhood fairytales to a modern adaptation of Frankenstein, Fagan’s reading history is as diverse as it is profound.
Early Reading and Fairytales
Fagan’s earliest reading memories are of fairytales, which she took seriously as moral lessons. “I was obsessed,” she said. “I soon knew that I’d always help any old lady cross the road, it really is always best to do so.”
Favourite Book Growing Up
Her favourite book as a child was The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien. “It expanded my understanding of what could be achieved in fiction,” Fagan explained. “I found Tolkien’s world transformative. I felt as if I knew the hobbits, and I so wanted to see the elves. I could hear the crack of fireworks as they turned into dragons that flew overhead.”
The Writer Who Changed Her Mind
Maya Angelou had a profound impact on Fagan. “Maya Angelou taught me that I owed myself hope,” she said. “No matter how painful or difficult it was. Her work has such dignity and light. I read all of her work for years and took as many lessons from it as I could. It made me want to step up and continue to try to find a way to create a life that mattered to me.”
The Book That Made Her Want to Be a Writer
Fagan’s path to writing began with the dictionary. “I was reading the dictionary when I was really quite little; if I found a word I didn’t know I would always go and look it up,” she recalled. “Strange thing for a kid to do but I fell in love with language itself.”
The Book She Came Back To
Initially, Fagan found Frankenstein by Mary Shelley too claustrophobic, but she later connected with it profoundly. She is now writing a modern adaptation of Frankenstein, set to be published next year. “She was so ahead of her time,” Fagan said of Shelley. “She began sci-fi, brought to life such a powerful archetype in the Creature… She was only a teenager when she first wrote the book; interestingly, she revisited it and made revisions over decades. Like a master painter, perhaps, who adds a touch of shade and light later on, only to heighten a work’s immortal glow.”
The Book She Rereads
Fagan’s all-time favourite story is The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka. “Gregor Samsa wakes up one morning as an Ungeziefer, some kind of monstrous creature,” she said. “I think it perfectly encapsulates the relationship between the individual and social structures.”
The Book She Could Never Read Again
Fagan avoids anything by Enid Blyton, noting, “Her work has not aged well.”
The Book Discovered Later in Life
While travelling in Egypt, Fagan read The Yacoubian Building by Alaa Al Aswany and Midaq Alley by Naguib Mahfouz. “Both books are intertwined with my memories of staying in downtown Cairo,” she said.
The Book That Changed Her as a Teenager
At age 15, living in a children’s home, Fagan read A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess. “Its protagonist, Alex, was the same age as me,” she recalled. “I found the book shocking. The use of ‘nadsat’ (teenage slang) as the language spoken by his ‘droogs’ also showed me that there are many ways to innovate in a novel.”
Current Read and Comfort Read
Fagan is currently reading Gisèle Pelicot’s memoir A Hymn to Life, calling her “extraordinary and inspiring.” For comfort, she turns to poetry: “a single stanza in ‘Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird’ by Wallace Stevens, or ‘The Man-Moth’ by Elizabeth Bishop, or ‘Temptation’ by Nina Cassian. There are so many poems I return to endlessly, as with a favourite record that never fails to contain something familiar and new at the same time.”
The Delusions by Jenni Fagan is published by Hutchinson Heinemann (£18.99). To order a copy go to guardianbookshop.com. Delivery charges may apply.
