WHAT BOOK would novelist Oyinkan Braithwaite take to a desert island?

WHAT BOOK would novelist Oyinkan Braithwaite take to a desert island?

  • Oyinkan Braithwaite is currently reading The Chain by Adrian McKinty
  • She would take Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte to a desert island 
  • Novelist revealed Mrs Rochester by Hilary Bailey left her cold

. . . are you reading now?

The Chain by Adrian McKinty. I met Adrian earlier this year (which feels like a lifetime ago) and he was so much fun to be around. If you ever get a chance to hear his stories, don’t pass it up. I bought his book then and had him sign it. Both his book and mine are presently on the shortlist for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel Of The Year award, so I am using this as an excuse to delve right into it. The book club I belong to is currently reading The Fisherman by Chigozie Obioma, so I will have to find a way to catch up with them.

. . . would you take to a desert island?

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. I have read Jane Eyre a number of times and I have three editions of the book. I was about ten the first time I read it and it’s still my favourite novel. I do not tire of it, so I believe it would be the perfect desert island read. If I’m allowed to choose another, I’d also take my Bible as I’m pretty certain I would need all the guidance and hope I could consume.

Novelist Oyinkan Braithwaite (pictured), revealed that she would take Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte to a desert island

. . . first gave you the reading bug?

Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery. It was really hard to choose one. But I remember how completely I entered the world of Ann with an E. I hear the new TV series is good but I have steered clear of it, lest it mess with my childhood memories.

The Anne Of Green Gables series was where I learnt what a kindred spirit was, where I began to form an idea of the sort of love I wanted to experience, where I decided being smart was better than being pretty. But there were a number of book series that I ate up — The Baby-sitters Club, The Indian In The Cupboard (though I wonder how that would hold up, if I read it now…), Malory Towers (it hurt my heart when I learnt that Blyton was racist), Little Women and Eight Cousins, to name just a few.

. . . left you cold?

Mrs Rochester by Hilary Bailey. I had a very strong aversion to this book that was by no means objective. As Jane Eyre is so important to me, when I saw there was a sequel (albeit from another author), I leapt at it. And there was nothing wrong with the work in terms of structure, plot or style, but I believe Bailey had Jane’s quiet fortitude confused with weakness.

My Sister, The Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite won the 2020 British Book Award for Crime And Thriller Book Of The Year supported by Stylist. The paperback is available now (Atlantic Books £8.99).