Susan Barker
Susan Barker
Susan Barkeris a British novelist. She has an English father and a Chinese-Malaysian mother and grew up in East London. She studied at Leeds University and undertook the graduate writing programme at Manchester University. She writes primarily about Asia...
NationalityBritish
ProfessionNovelist
hear teacher writers
You know, you hear about these writers reading 'Lolita' at 12. I wanted to be a chemistry teacher.
flats four houses lived moved novel seven six spent washington
During the six years I spent writing my novel 'The Incarnations,' I lived in seven cities in four countries. I moved in and out of 17 different houses and flats in Beijing, Seoul, Colorado, Boston, Leeds, Washington D.C., London and Shenzhen.
david include known lesser list multiple narrative novels slightly
It would be unthinkable to have a top-ten list of multiple narrative novels that doesn't include David Mitchell. 'Cloud Atlas' is the most obvious choice, but I have opted for Mitchell's slightly lesser known debut, 'Ghostwritten.'
centered great lives multiple spectacle tightrope towers trade walked
Most of 'Let the Great World Spin' is centered on the day in 1974 when Philippe Petit walked on a tightrope between the two towers of the World Trade Center, creating an astonishing spectacle that intersects with the lives of many of the novel's multiple protagonists.
change china citizens country economic effect history interested knew learn malaysia narrative ordinary originally rapid social south war
My grandfather was originally from the south of China before he emigrated to Malaysia pre-World War II. And I wanted to learn more about the history of the country of my ancestors. I knew I wanted a narrative set in contemporary Beijing. I was really interested in the effect of the rapid social and economic change on ordinary citizens in China.
consciousness filtered love multiple novels reasons single
There are many reasons I love novels with multiple narratives. In novels where the events are filtered through the consciousness of a single 'reliable' narrator, I often wonder, is this the whole story? What could be missing here?
closer events gets reader truth versions
Truth is often a multiplicity of perspectives, and sometimes the more viewpoints and versions of events there are, the closer the reader gets to an overarching truth.