A Moment With Renita D’Silva

Renita D’ Silva

Renita D’Silva’s novel, Monsoon Memories was released in 2013 and her second novel, The Forgotten Daughter was recently released by Bookouture. Renita talks about the books that she’s read that have made an impact on her.

Oh there are so many. I am reading constantly and I try and read as variedly as I can. While writing ‘MonsoonMemories’, some of the books that made a huge impact were Julie Myerson’s ‘Something might happen’,Chimamanda Ngosi Adichie’s ‘Purple Hibiscus’, MaggieO’Farrell’s ‘The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox’ and Rose Tremain’s ‘The Road Home’.

While writing ‘The Forgotten Daughter’ I read Margaret Atwood’s ‘The Blind Assassin’ and was blown away by the sheer beauty of her prose.

The book that made a big impact on me growing up was Arundhati Roy’s ‘The God of Small Things’. I obsessed over it – the plot, her prose, her beautifully evocative descriptions, her boldly original usage of the English language – the way she manipulated it to suit her narrative, the way she told a beautiful story while making a point.

I also love the way Hilary Mantel is able to get inside Cromwell’s head in ‘Wolf Hall’ and ‘Bring Up the Bodies’, to show us the man, his thoughts, his life, his failings – I absolutely admire that. I love Jodi Picoult and the way she gets you hooked from the first page and keeps you hooked until the last, the way she takes you and your emotions on a rollercoaster ride.

I read Harper Lee’s ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ as a teenager and have reread it several times since and find something new to admire every time. I can go on and on, sorry. I know you asked for just one book, but books are an obsession of mine and I can’t stop once you get me started…

Visit Renita’s website to learn more about her books.

The Forgotten Daughter is now available to buy in paperback and e-book.

by

Laura

I'm Laura. I started Novel Kicks back in 2009 as I wanted a place to discuss books and writing - two loves of my life. As someone who has anxiety, these two things give me, and I am sure countless others, a much needed escape.
There is a monthly book club, writing exercises, prompts, reviews, author interviews, competitions and guest posts. I cover many genres and I hope there is something for everyone.
I grew up by the sea in Dorset and currently live in Poole with my husband, Chris and three cats. I love writing and have a BA (Hons) in Creative Writing from Falmouth University. I am writing my first book. If only I could stop pressing delete. Chris has threatened to stop it from working. Haha.
I have always loved creative writing since I was in first school and would very much like to meet my teacher, Miss Sayers, to say thank you for all the encouragement she gave me then.
When not writing, I love reading, cats, Disney, singing (I can't sing but this doesn't stop me,) and falling into a good TV show or film. If I could step into any fictional world, it would be amongst the characters in ABC's Once Upon a Time.
I love reading many genres and discovering new authors.