Tahmima Anam

OT: Your books are set in Bangladesh, but you grew up mostly in the West. Do you shuttle between the two worlds very often?

Tahmima Anam: I travel to Bangladesh two or three times a year to visit family and friends. And I always gain a lot of inspiration for my writing when I’m there, whether it’s in the form of research or just soaking in the spirit of the place.

OT: What deserves to be seen in your home country?

Tahmima Anam: Many things. Just outside Dhaka, for instance, the countryside is beautiful — the hills of Chittagong, the Madhupur Forest, the mangroves.

OT: Is there a journey you’ve made recently that you’re tempted to weave into your next book?

Tahmima Anam: In January, my husband and I travelled to the Sundarbans. We took a boat from Khulna which went all the way down to the Bay of Bengal. It was absolutely stunning and I hope to set a scene there someday.

OT: Has the success of your books meant whirlwind book tours? Where have they taken you?

Tahmima Anam: I’ve been to some wonderful places, like Rome and Helsinki, on book tours. And some of the literary festivals are in stunning locations — a few years ago, I went to Galle in southern Sri Lanka, which was amazing. But the most interesting place I’ve visited on account of my books was Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan.

OT: Your last trip?

Tahmima Anam: I’ve just returned from Turin, in northern Italy, where I attended the Turin Book Fair.

OT: Is there a holiday you have been longing to take?

Tahmima Anam: Yes. I’ve longed to travel to Japan, and this summer my husband and I plan to take a belated honeymoon there.

OT: What do you bring back from your holidays?

Tahmima Anam: Always food! From Iraq, I brought back mountain honey and wild sumac (a very sour, bright red spice that you can dust on kebabs — delicious). And from Italy, I always bring back Burrata, which is a creamy version of mozzarella cheese.

OT: Your favourite cuisine?

Tahmima Anam: Of course I love home-cooked Bengali fish curry. But I have a long-standing affection for the food of Thailand as I have spent several years there as a child.

OT: What do you read when travelling?

Tahmima Anam: Usually I stock up a big stack of paperbacks to take on holiday with me. I’m reading Great House by Nicole Krauss right now.

OT: Your worst trip?

Tahmima Anam: Funnily enough, my biggest travel disaster was in the UK. I was trying to get to a literary festival in Cornwall one summer, and it had rained so much that the train tracks had flooded. It took several days for me to finally arrive!

OT: Three things you always pack…

Tahmima Anam: A paperback, a toothbrush and my notebook.