ANDREA LEVY

Andrea Levy was born in London in 1956 to Jamaican parents. She is the author of four novels, each of which explore - from different perspectives - the problems faced by black British-born children of Jamaican emigrants. Her most recent novel, Small Island, set in 1948, explores the interaction between a black couple - Gilbert, a former RAF recruit, who has returned to Britain on the SS Windrush, and his Jamaican wife Hortense - and a white couple: Queenie, their landlady, and her recently demobbed husband, Bernard. It won the 2004 Orange Prize for Fiction, the 2004 Whitbread Book of the Year, and the 2005 Commonwealth Writers Prize. You can find out more about Andrea and her work at the Contemporary Writers website.

Susan Tranter: Welcome Andrea. Can I start by asking what you're reading at the moment?

AL: On Beauty by Zadie Smith, a very talented writer. I have also just read and enjoyed The Stone Cradle by Louise Doughty and The Secret River by Kate Grenville.  On top of those books I have been reading a lot of books for research for my next novel which, if you see the answer to a later question, you will understand why I’m not saying what those books are.
   
Toby: Who is your favourite character in Small Island - and why?

AL: As the author I feel like the mother of all the characters, so as a mother I shouldn’t have favourites. But I do. Gilbert is my favourite for his humour, spirit, grace and tenderness. A lovely man. I wish I knew him in real life.
  
Catherine Long: Have you considered writing a sequel to Small Island, in which we might find out what happened to Gilbert and Hortense, and their children, etc?

AL: I have thought about it, and who knows. But I have no plans at the moment. I think it’s part of a writer’s job to leave the reader wondering what happened to the characters they have just encountered. For me it’s what makes fiction so enjoyable.
  
ABD: Several of your books treat the subject of the children of Caribbean parents coming to the UK and resettling. Why is this so important to you, and is it a theme you'll continue to address?

AL: In all my books so far, I have been on both a literary journey (learning my craft as a writer) and also a personal journey, trying to find out about and make sense of the heritage (Jamaican/English) that I was born into. At the moment this is what interests me personally, professionally and politically but who knows what will grab my interest in the future.
  
David Olegbe: What kind of 'writing culture' do you think there is in the UK? Do writers support each other, are there any organisations which help, or is everyone very much on their own?

AL: I think writers are very well respected in the UK, but we don’t tend to help them financially when they are starting out – not compared to Canada or Australia. I think we are a bit wedded to the romantic idea of artists starving in a garret. Consequently, I think writers can feel in competition with one another for the resources that there are. It can sometimes seem like you’re drinking from a shrinking pool.
  
Anna-Maija: How important is humour in your writing?

AL: I believe that humour is part of the human condition. Humour is to be found even in great tragedy. All comic or all tragic just doesn’t reflect life for me. There is always a mix.
   
S. Carter: Was there any one book which made such an impression on you as a reader that you thought 'I want to do that', and go on and become a writer yourself?

AL: Not really. I was not much of a reader when I was growing up – I watched the television. I didn’t have an ambition to be a writer and if you had told me when I was twenty that I would make my living as a writer I would have thought you were crazy!
   
Michael: I wonder if the awards which Andrea won for Small Island have changed the way she feels she is seen as a writer?

AL: Awards are a wonderful way of getting your work to a wider audience. It’s been a big publicity boost. It had always given me a thrill to be able to tell people I was a novelist. The difference now is that more people have heard of my books and so they believe me!  
  
Sholi: I'd be fascinated to know what Andrea is working on next... if she's able to reveal anything to us!

AL: I’m very superstitious about talking about what I am working on next. I’m scared that something I say will throw me off course. But it is a book (like Small Island) only all the words are in a different order!
  
Susan Tranter: Many thanks for taking part Andrea. Finally, have you read any great books by UK or Commonwealth-based writers which you'd recommend to EnCompass readers?

AL: You must all read English Passengers by Mathew Kneale.

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