Johannes Anyuru: 'Beautiful speech is the most overrated virtue'

Swedish author Johannes Anyuru is preparing to release a new book, a "labyrintisk" (labyrinthine) work focused on Gaza. He describes the book as containing voices that must be read backward because they belong to the deceased, alongside approximately thirty pages of dense footnotes and sources. Anyuru anticipates needing about a week to transition back to normalcy after completing such an intensive project.

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I am trying to transition to leave after working the entire spring on a labyrinthine book about Gaza that is finally going to print.

When asked about his vision of complete happiness, Anyuru's response is simple: sitting with his wife and children to share a meal. His greatest fear is losing himself, succumbing to "dust." He admits to despising a "schoolyard meanness" that surfaces when he tries to be social and expresses a strong dislike for "ruthlessness" in others.

Anyuru views his willingness to write books that don't generate income and his public arguments, which he believes may cost him scholarships, as his most significant "extravagances." He also indulges in expensive carpets or Moroccan wool coats when unexpected money comes his way, though he rarely wears the coats. He values "kindness" most highly in both men and women.

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Sitting with my wife and, to some extent, my children and eating food.

Reflecting on public figures, Anyuru finds it "nice" that everyone can safely name Donald Trump as someone they detest. He frequently uses phrases combining months or seasons with words related to light, such as "September sky" or "summer evening." His greatest love is God, and he wishes he possessed the talent for mundane administrative tasks like filling out forms and answering emails.

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To lose myself to myself. To the dust.

His most treasured possession is a pressed leaf from under a tree where the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, sat as a child. Anyuru lists a diverse range of favorite authors and poets, including Don DeLillo, HP Lovecraft, Marie Silkeberg, and Mahmoud Darwish. His fictional heroes are Nightcrawler from "X-men" and Ilya Volyova from Alistair Reynolds' "Revelation Space" series, admired for her refusal of cybernetic implants and her ultimate sacrifice.

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A schoolyard meanness that creeps out when I try to be social.