Hubert Mingarelli bares his literary soul

The French author has been shortlisted for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize 2014 for ‘A Meal in Winter’, an elegant meditation on the Holocaust

Hubert Mingarelli: “I prefer not to invite writers, for fear of being disappointed”. Photograph: Ji-Elle
Hubert Mingarelli: “I prefer not to invite writers, for fear of being disappointed”. Photograph: Ji-Elle

What was the first book to make an impression on you?

Martin Eden by Jack London.

What was your favourite book as a child?

I do not remember exactly. But especially the stories of cowboys and Indians.

READ MORE

And what is your favourite book or books now?

Right now I hardly read. I watch movies instead.

What is your favourite quotation?

“Become what you are”

Which do you prefer: ebooks or the traditional print version?

I prefer to read paper books.

Where and how do you write?

I write directly on the screen while listening to music, and at a desk that I built outside my house.

What book changed the way you think about fiction?

On the Road by Jack Kerouac.

What book influenced you the most?

Matryona's Place by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn.

Which writers, living or dead, would you invite to your dream dinner party?

I prefer not to invite writers, for fear of being disappointed.