Welcome to the Book Marks Questionnaire, where we ask authors questions about the books that have shaped them.
This week, we spoke to the author of Burnt Sugar, Avni Doshi.
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Book Marks: First book you remember loving?
Avni Doshi: As a child, The Very Hungry Caterpillar. As a young adult, The House of the Spirits.
BM: Favorite re-read?
AD: I keep coming back to Manto’s short stories.
BM: A book that blew your mind?
AD: Luster by Raven Leilani.
BM: Last book you read?
AD: The Far Field by Madhuri Vijay.
BM: A book that made you cry?
AD: Shubhangi Swarup’s Latitudes of Longing.
BM: What’s one book you wish you had read during your teenage years?
AD: The Fire Next Time. I was supposed to read it for high school English class, but only read sections. When I read it in full years later, it changed me.
BM: What book from the past year would you like to give a shout-out to?
AD: I’d like to give a shout out to a book that will be coming out in 2021, if that’s okay. Nikesh Shukla’s Brown Baby. Also, Asylum Road by Olivia Sudjic.
BM: Classic book you hate?
AD: I’ve attempted James Joyce and put him aside.
BM: Classic book on your To Be Read pile?
AD: In Custody by Anita Desai.
BM: Favorite book no one has heard of?
AD: Season of Migration to the North… people have heard of it of course, but I hadn’t until a couple years ago. What an incredible book! Authors Fleur Jaeggy and Natalia Ginzburg were also revelatory to me, and I only heard of them really recently (because Alexander Chee recommended them on Instagram!).
BM: Favorite book you were assigned in high school?
AD: Their Eyes Were Watching God.
BM: Book(s) you’re reading right now?
AD: Milk Teeth by Amrita Mahale, and a set of pamphlets by Four Brown Girls Who Write.
BM: Favorite children’s book?
AD: At the moment, I Like Myself.
BM: Book you wish would be adapted for a film/tv show?
AD: Mira Jacob’s Good Talk would be an amazing animated film. Also, Ponti by Sharlene Teo.
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Avni Doshi was born in New Jersey and lives in Dubai. She has a BA in art history from Barnard College in New York and a Masters in history of art from University College London. She was awarded the Tibor Jones South Asia Prize in 2013 and a Charles Pick Fellowship in 2014. Her writing has appeared in Vogue UK, Granta and The Sunday Times. Her first novel, Burnt Sugar, was originally released in India under the title Girl in White Cotton, where it won the Sushila Devi Award and was longlisted for the Tata First Novel Prize. Upon publication in the UK, Burnt Sugar was shortlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize. It is being published in 23 languages. Avni is currently working on her second novel.
Avni Doshi’s Burnt Sugar is out now from Overlook Press
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