First writes

In this Q&A, we throw some questions about ‘firsts’ at debut authors. For February, we feature Christy Edwall, author of History Keeps Me Awake At Night, a novel about a woman who becomes obsessed with the story of a group of Mexican students who vanish without trace after being ambushed by police

What’s the first book you remember reading as a child?

The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe, around the time my mother taught me to read while she was on bed-rest, pregnant with my youngest brother. I loved the wardrobe and the snow, and even the eerie statues, but found the shaving of Aslan excruciating. The memory of Pauline Baynes’ illustration still makes my stomach turn.

What was the book you read that made you decide to be a writer?

I’m sure it was LittleWomen; less because of Jo’s literary ambitions than because of the four sisters’ vivid cultural life: their plays and newspapers. Amy March’s will and testament in chapter 19 inspired a rash of morbid imitations.

What’s your favourite first line in a book?

The ferocious first line of Tsitsi Dangarembga’s NervousConditions: ‘I was not sorry when my brother died’. Mrs Dalloway, BrightonRock and TheTowersOfTrebizond are serious contenders for second place.

Which debut publication had the most profound effect on you?

Garth Greenwell’s WhatBelongs ToYou is a devastatingly good debut; a masterclass in writing beautifully about unbeautiful things, and in paying attention to places or events other people might ignore or underestimate.

What’s the first thing you do when you wake up on a writing day?

I write before work. I wake up in the dark (ideally before my alarm) and make a cafetière of coffee which I drink while I write. Halfway through, I put porridge oats on the stove, which finish around the time I stop writing.

What’s the first thing you do when you’ve stopped writing for the day?

I eat breakfast and scroll through TheGuardian before getting ready for work. I’d like to break the habit and read a book, but so far no luck!

In a parallel universe where you’re the tyrant leader of a dystopian civilisation, what’s the first book you’d burn?

Dune, which seems to be the one book all men my age have read or intend to read. In a Dune-less world, maybe they’d be more adventurous: Octavia E Butler? Henry James?

What’s the first piece of advice you’d offer to an aspiring novelist?

Read everything. Make friends with good readers; they might one day be willing to read your work.

History Keeps Me Awake At Night is published by Granta on Thursday 2 February.