John Boyne interview

John Boyne says whether authors are writing for children or adults what matters is good storytelling.

John Boyne is a rare breed of writer who can take on the challenge of writing adult and children's fiction and excel in either form. He relishes both admitting he has never written anything as "purely imaginative" as his last children's tale Noah Barleywater Runs Away.

He was already an established (adult) novelist when he released The Boy In Striped Pyjamas in 2006 and it quickly earned a reputation as 'a children's classic'. The lines are blurred though, because it's a book adults should read too.

For Boyne, the crossover is not such a big deal. He said: "I didn't find the bridge difficult. The storytelling is the same regardless of the intended audience. I can remember being eight and I like writing about that age of innocence when children still have a sense of wonder. But it's also rather like writing about a soldier in the trenches. Some of it is just an act of imagination.

"I had not read a lot of children's literature before I started writing my own but I have read recent works to understand that world better. Children's fiction is a place of incredible passion - among writers, publishers, librarians and teachers - and the standard of writing is higher than it has ever been. Children's authors don't talk down or patronise their younger readers.

"I always intended to write another children's book after The Boy In Striped Pyjamas but I was waiting for a good idea. Then I went back to adult fiction for The Absolutist and am now writing a new children's book that should be out next September."

It's a golden age of children's writing and adult authors Boyne meets are far from dismissive of the skills it takes to write well for younger readers. He added: "I have met a lot of top adult literary writers and they have told me they would love to write a children's book - that it is something of a real ambition for them. I always say 'you should go ahead' - it's about good storytelling."

The Noah book, which is out now in paperback, is very different from The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas. He said: "It was very deliberately styled a fairytale. I had read the Grimm's and Hans Christian Andersen with traditional tales where a child is left abandoned by big, bad parents. I wanted my character to go missing of his own volition. It is not a very linear story and was difficult to write because I was tieing in with the story of an old man whom Noah meets."

There is a mystery to why Noah and the Old Man ran away but all is explained in the twists. How much had he wanted to give away?

Boyne said: "I began with earlier drafts - when it was revealed earlier about the Pinocchio aspect of a puppet who gets his wish to be a real boy. But I was intrigued by thinking about the old man as he was getting old and preparing to die. Was choosing to be a real boy something he would have regretted?

"I knew it was a fantastical story. But with Noah, it was also dealing with a child's impending grief. It was also trying to show how a child can find happiness and survive terrible things. I was making it sad but not terribly bleak. It was meant to show kids in that situation some type of encouragement."

Boyne enjoys the enthusiasm that young readers bring to book events. He said: "I don't have children but I do have lots of nephews and nieces. In fact, the first person I showed a draft of Pyjamas to was my 11-year-old nephew."

Boyne will be talking about his new book next week at the Telegraph Bath Festival Of Children's Literature, something he is looking forward to. He added: "What I like about festivals is that children are so enthusiastic and they don't censor themselves. It can be intimidating facing a room of children. One child once asked me if I knew Wayne Rooney. I said I know of him. Boys often ask me what car I drive and how much money I make."

The film adaptation of Pyjamas (a faithful adaptation he was "happy with") has brought him recognition and some financial security but even before success he was certain that the only thing in life he wanted to be was a writer, devouring books such as Treasure Island, The Count of Monte Cristo and Robinson Crusoe at a young age.

Boyne added: "I wrote my first book at 20 but my whole focus from about the age of 12 was to be a writer. It was the only goal I had something that came from deep inside me. It's not easy making a living as a writer and for many years I worked at a Waterstones in Dublin. It was a good environment for an aspiring writer, with lots of events and authors appearing."

Boyne also did a degree in literature at Trinity College Dublin followed by a year out at Malcolm Bradbury's celebrated creative writing course at the University of East Anglia where he won the Curtis Brown award.

He's just turned 40, plays guitar to relax and loves listening to Kate Bush but his main focus is writing and yet more writing. He has got the taste of writing both adult and children's works and may alternate between them in future.

Pyjamas and Noah, are achingly sad. Has he been asked to tone down the sadness? Boyne replied: "The books are truthful. You can't sugarcoat everything."

Link: The Telegraph