Carlos Ruiz Zafon author q and a

Carlos Ruiz Zafon on Proust, Peter Pan and The Third Reich...

What was your favourite childhood book?

I had quite a few, but I remember a compilation of comic strips by Quino called 10 years of Mafalda. To me this book seemed to contain more wisdom, wit and talent than dozens of glorified tomes of philosophy and poetry. I used to read it every day when I came back from school.

Which book has made you laugh?

That one made laugh then and still makes me laugh now.

Which book has made you cry?

Mine tend to make me cry in frustration, because I cannot make them any better than they are.

Which book would you never have on your bookshelf?

I guess anything that promotes bigotry, snobbery or any other form of organized stupidity.

Which book are you reading at the moment?

The Third Reich At War by Richard Evans. A fantastic work that concludes his monumental trilogy on the Reich's history.

Which book would you give as a present to a friend?

Depends on the friend. I would look for something that hopefully excites, moves and entertains the subject.

Which other writers do you admire?

Too many to mention. I admire good, professional writing in general. I admire things that are well done, in any field. I admire people who are good at what they do and strive to get even better. They can be writers, doctors, waiters or cab drivers. People who work hard to do a good job make this a better world for the rest of us. I have a lot of respect for that.

Which classic have you always meant to read and never got round to it?

Remembrance of Things Past by Marcel Proust. For some reason I never go beyond the first tome. But I plan to go back and mend my wrong ways.

What are your top five books of all time, in order or otherwise?

I'm afraid it is impossible for me to do lists of bests of, or top tens or things like that. I'm genetically incapable of doing them. I just like too many things to select only five or fifty.

What is the worst book you have ever read?

I don't like to single out the worst in books. If I'm not interested in something I' reading, I'll leave it and move on. Life's too short to invest time in hating books.

Is there a particular book or author that inspired you to be a writer?

Many, although I'm afraid I was born with this thing. It came with my brain as some kind of operative system. I couldn't have done anything else.

What is your favourite time of day to write?

It used to be at night, between midnight and dawn. As I get older, I just write whenever I can find the energy to do it. When I'm deep into a book, I'll write at any time of the day my brain is barely functional.

And favourite place?

My office/studio, either in Barcelona or L.A.

Longhand or word processor?

Word Processor, always. And only Macs. I don't do windows.

Which fictional character would you most like to have met?

The crocodile in Peter Pan. I believe we were separated at birth.

Who, in your opinion, is the greatest writer of all time?

I have absolutely no idea. I can think of about fifty or sixty that may fill those shoes, but beyond that I cannot be more specific. To be honest, I don't think there's THE ONE. It is like trying to figure out who's better, Bach or Mozart? I don't know. They're both sublime. The world isn't made of lists. It doesn't work like that. Nobody's the best or the worst at anything. At least I don't look at things that way.

Which book have you found yourself unable to finish?

A few. I don't make a point of finishing something if I don't find anything of interest in it. There's plenty of fish in the sea.

What is your favourite word?

I like all words. I do not discriminate.

Other than writing, what other jobs have you done?

Many years ago I worked as a musician, but essentially I've always been a writer and made my living telling stories in one way or another.

What was the first piece you ever had in print?

A mystery story I wrote when I was 10 or 11. I had this little publishing house with three other friends and we sold the stories I wrote to the other kids and teachers. We were a big success, until some official at school shut us down claiming our books were subversive and a bad influence on the student body. That was my first experience at both publishing and censorship.

What are you working on at the moment?

This questionnaire. I'm trying to come up with lists of favorites and bests, honest, but I am not capable of doing it. It is a deep character flaw for which I apologize. I do have a favorite ice cream flavor, though: Strawberry. Wait a minute - or is it Mango? See? I'm not the man for the job.