Susan Barker Quotes

United Kingdom, Wrestler
1978

Susan Barker is a British novelist. She has an English father and a Chinese-Malaysian mother and grew up in East London. She studied at Leeds University and undertook the graduate writing programme at Manchester University. She writes primarily about Asia.

Also known as Novelist

It would be unthinkable to have a top-ten list of multiple narrative novels that doesn't include David Mitchell. 'Cloud Atlas' is the most obvious choice, but I have opted for Mitchell's slightly lesser known debut, 'Ghostwritten.'

Susan Barker
- Novels
- List
- Debut
What's the good of one person clinging to his morals when everyone else is so corrupt? What's the good of that?

Susan Barker
- Morals
- Corrupt
- Clinging

Truth is often a multiplicity of perspectives, and sometimes the more viewpoints and versions of events there are, the closer the reader gets to an overarching truth.

Susan Barker
There are many reasons I love novels with multiple narratives. In novels where the events are filtered through the consciousness of a single 'reliable' narrator, I often wonder, is this the whole story? What could be missing here?

Susan Barker
- Wonder
- Novels
- Narrator
No matter how dilapidated, scarred and mutilated your body, I have always found you beautiful, for it is the soul beneath I seek.

Susan Barker
- Soul
- Body
- Found
My process for determining which eras I'd write about was to just read history books that gave a really broad overview of Chinese history. And when I came across a historical figure or a historical incident that was especially interesting to me, ideas for characters and stories would surface.

Susan Barker
I feel uninhibited when I'm writing.

Susan Barker
- Writing
- Feel
I wrote in coffee shops in Japan when I was 22, 23, before I had the stamina to sit down and write. I liked the buzzy environment; I couldn't speak Japanese when I arrived, so it was kind of a white noise. It felt more sociable than being alone, but now, as I've developed a writing practice, I couldn't do it.

Susan Barker

In the end, how much distance lies between the truth and what we believe to be true? Between the things we feel at one time and the things we end up doing?

Susan Barker
- Truth
- Lies
- Distance
You know, you hear about these writers reading 'Lolita' at 12. I wanted to be a chemistry teacher.

Susan Barker
- Reading
- Teacher
- Writers