Herman Koch on being caught by Holden Caulfield

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

Robinson Crusoe. I wanted to live on an island just like him. I played I did.

What was your favourite book as a child?

All the books that featured Paddington Bear.

And what is your favourite book or books now?

I read or reread everything from 19th-century Russians to books that came out yesterday. I am rarely disappointed.

What is your favourite quotation?

Postpone everything you could do today till tomorrow (it’s one I made up myself).

Who is your favourite fictional character?

Holden Caulfield.

Who is the most under-rated Irish author?

James Joyce. Under-rated because nobody really reads him. They think he is too difficult, which, apart from Finnegans Wake, he is not.

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

It depends. Sometimes I see (print) books with too many sentences, words and letters on the page. In that case I prefer my iPad mini, so I can adjust the page to my own taste. If not so I always prefer the print version.

What is the most beautiful book you own?

I am not a collector of beautiful books. I think every book that is designed with love deserves this title.

Where and how do you write?

I always write in different places in my own house: one day the kitchen table, the next the sofa in the living room. I can write in hotel rooms. Wherever my laptop or my notebook is, is my “office”.

What book changed the way you think about fiction?

The Catcher in the Rye, because of the tone and voice of the narrator who speaks directly to you.

What is the most research you have done for a book?

I never do active research. My life in the past is the field where the research is already done.

What book influenced you the most?

The Catcher in the Rye: when I was 18, not anymore.

What book would you give to a friend’s child on their 18th birthday?

The Catcher in the Rye.

What book do you wish you had read when you were young?

Crime and Punishment, I tried when I was 16, I finished it when I was 60.

What advice would you give to an aspiring author?

Don’t think too long: write the first sentence.

What weight do you give reviews?

There are good reviews that make me yawn, and there are bad reviews from which you can learn something. I don’t keep them in a drawer; after two days I’ve forgotten what they were trying to say.

Where do you see the publishing industry going?

I think books will become something like LPs. In a decade there will be a revival of printed books.

What writing trends have struck you lately?

Almost every writer tries his or her hand at plot-driven suspense novels.

What lessons have you learned about life from reading?

That there is a way to disconnect from the world around you very easily and very quickly.

What has being a writer taught you?

That with only a few hours of writing I can feel happy for the rest of the day.

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

No writers at my dinner party! I try to avoid their company as much as possible.

What is the funniest scene you’ve read?

I don’t remember. Probably wasn’t that funny.

What is your favourite word?

And. It keeps things moving forward.

If you were to write a historical novel, which event or figure would be your

subject?

I have sworn very early on that never in my life will I write a historical novel.

Herman Koch's latest novel is Summer House with Swimming Pool, published by Atlantic Books.