In our second author interview we speak to Kiran Millwood Hargrave about ‘The Girl of Ink and Stars’. The book has already become a runaway bestseller in a number of our shops and we highly recommended it.
The Girl of Ink and Stars has been wildly successful. Is there anything the reader might know ahead of time that will enhance their enjoyment of the book?
Be prepared for brave girls, ancient myths, magical maps, a wild adventure - and a comedy chicken. One of the most common questions I get asked at events is ‘Are any of the characters based on you?’ and the answer is ‘The chicken’.
Was there a particular person you were thinking of as you wrote?
The book is for, and dedicated to, my cousin Sabine Karer. She is twelve now, and my goal all along was to write a book she’d enjoy. We don’t get to see each other much as she lives in India, so I wanted to show her I was thinking about her. Diversity is key to my story, as Sabine doesn’t get to read many books where the characters look like her. I’m mixed race myself and think it’s atrocious how few books reflect the multicultural world we live in. Books can be windows, but mirrors are important too.
Signed edition
The Girl of Ink & Stars
by Kiran Millwood Hargrave
“Kiran Millwood Hargrave creates a spellbinding world of magic, myth and adventure. The story holds you like a labyrinth and won’t let you go.”
If you could be a character in any book who (or what) would it be?
Either Roald Dahl’s Matilda, who was one of my earliest heroines, or perhaps Falkor, the Luckdragon from Michael Ende’s The Neverending Story. I think I could happily give up eating and swimming (fatal to a luckdragon) for flying.
Filmed at our iconic Oxford bookshop, enjoy Kiran talking about her book
“I love words that have a mouth-feel to them, that come alive on the tongue...”
- Kiran Millwood Hargrave
You first gained recognition as a poet - does this inform your prose writing in conscious ways?
It can’t help but inform it. For me, poetry is about saying as much as possible in the fewest words necessary. It’s about picking the most precise word, which is usually not the most obvious one. There is a definite lyricism to my prose, which I hope is the opposite of decorative - I hope it adds texture and urgency. I love words that have a mouth-feel to them, that come alive on the tongue, and think The Girl of Ink & Stars is at its best when read out loud.
It seems that more and more adults are reading and enjoying fiction ostensibly written for children / teens - any thoughts as to why?
To me, it’s quite clear that many of the boldest and bravest stories are being written by authors whose primary audience are young people. We were all younger once, and chances are we were bolder and braver ourselves. The stakes get higher as we get older - we have mortgages, marriages, jobs, children - and I think we get stuck. Language is where the invention often lives in books for grown-ups - the plots are often mimicry, or retellings, and this can get dull, however gorgeously written. Whereas books like His Dark Materials, The Lie Tree, Howl’s Moving Castle - these are original in all senses of the word. I think maybe more adults are wising up to the fact that they’re being sold the same story a dozen different ways - beautiful ways, yes - but books written for younger readers are where much of the bravest imagination, and therefore writing, is happening. In my opinion. There are obviously exceptions, and some of my favourite writers are amongst them: Michel Faber, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Jeanette Winterson, Margaret Atwood, Chinelo Okparanta. Whenever I read a book by any of them I don’t know where it’s going to take me.
Any books / authors who you think are criminally underrated and deserve to be read by many more people?
I suspect it won’t be underrated for long, but Fen by Daisy Johnson has slunk into the world as one of Foyles and Blackwells’ Books of the Month - and it’s truly startling. Another triumph is LoveStar by Andri Snær Magnason - if you’re not fed up of post-apocalyptic visions of the world, it’s a must-read. Poetry is generally neglected by wider audiences, so any excuse to recommend poets is welcome. Lucie Brock-Broido and Robin Robertson are possibly my favourites - their language is baroque and visceral. I recently read The Hearing Trumpet by Leonora Carrington and was utterly charmed. And I don’t understand how more people aren’t obsessed with Sarah Moss or Deborah Kay Davies. Everything they write is fierce in its outlook and hypnotic in its narrative. Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan is brutal and brilliant. In short, yes - there are many! But there is only so much space in media coverage, and only so many awards. Speak to your friendly local bookseller if you want something off the beaten track.
Have you got a favourite word?
Incandescent. Such a luminous word: a story in itself.
More praise for ‘The Girl of Ink and Stars’
“Truly beautiful writing, within a magical world. I loved it!”
