The Man Booker International prize finalists speak

The winner of the Man Booker’s biennial selection of the best in international literature will be awarded next week. Many of the finalists are unfamiliar to English-language readers, so we’ve spoken to all 10 finalists. Read the interview below;

UR Anathamurthy

Which of your books would you recommend to a reader approaching your work for the first time?
Samskara.
How has your nomination for the Man Booker International prize been received in your home country?
That an Indian writer writing in one of the Indian languages, Kannada – disparagingly described as “vernacular” – gets shortlisted for the Man Booker International prize is an important event. Translation into English made this possible and is also acknowledged by readers across India.
As a writer do you feel there is a distinction between a home and an international readership?
When I write I am not conscious whether I write for home or international readership. It is a probe into reality in a language of the environment in which I grew up.
Who are your literary heroes?
My heroes in Kannada are Pampa and Kumara Vyasa, Basava and Allama Prabhu from older Kannada literature, and my elder contemporaries DR Bendre, Gopalakrishna Adiga and Kota Shivaram Karanth. From the west, Tolstoy, and DH Lawrence and Camus.