Romesh Gunesekera: Breathing life into every word

Sri Lankan born author Romesh Gunesekera does not transcribe reality, he recreates it from a mixture of memory and imagination. Nominated for one of the world’s most prestigious literary awards, the Man Booker Prize for Fiction, for his debut novel Reef – Romesh has been publishing novels, short stories and poetry for more than 30 years. Harriett Gilbert meets Romesh at his London home in early 2018, to find out how he is crafting his latest novel, Suncatcher. It tells the story of two boys growing up in 1960s Sri Lanka, examining their friendship and the beginnings of a political awakening. Romesh has been working on his book for several years and is now meticulously revising the text – questioning each word – as he prepares to send his precious manuscript out into the world.