Nadine Bjursten
Author Interview - Nadine Bjursten
Author of Half a Cup of Sand and Sky
It is 1977, and the anti-shah protests at Tehran University are intensifying, but Amineh is not like her peers who want a say in the future of their country. Her thoughts are on the beautiful literature of another era and her past of rose harvests and Sufi poetry evenings under the desert sky. A chance encounter with Farzad, a disarmament activist, will thrust her into a life she didn’t ask for and didn’t want. Nobody wanted the tyranny that is quickly turning worse than the tyranny it replaced. But maybe Amineh has been looking at her life all wrong—Maybe the thing she is seeking is not in the past at all.
Author Interview - Nadine Bjursten
Author I draw inspiration from:
Barbara Kingsolver, The Poisonwood Bible
Author Interview - Nadine Bjursten | Author I Draw Inspiration From
Favorite place to read a book:
In an old Swedish Gustavian armchair sitting in our bay window looking out over the cobble stone street in our old university town of Lund, Sweden, where I have lived for the past 13 years. On the table are orchids and in the distance is the steeple of All Saints Church that catches the moon on some nights. My Rhodesian Ridgeback, Ellie, is sitting on the other armchair sleeping in a cozy ball or looking out of the window like some forgotten princess.
Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with:
Mrs. Ramsey from To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf. She would look very composed, impeccably dressed, and I would ask her little questions about her youngest son and then her husband. We would get into a conversation about husbands and family dynamics and soon we would have so much to say and share and by the time the elevator stopped in the lobby we would be laughing so much that we would decide to sit down at the hotel bar and continue our conversation.
Author Interview - Nadine Bjursten | Book Character I’d Like to be Stuck in an Elevator With
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author:
I always thought about books, and even planned them out and designed them as a little kid, but funnily enough, it never occurred to me that I could actually become an author as it felt too much like a leisure activity, just like my poetry. It was only when I was in my 30s and had been working myself to the bone as an editor of a journal that the dream came back to me, and suddenly I could see myself in that role.
Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook:
Paperback always. Hardbacks are lovely to look at, and I like the idea of an ebook and an audiobook, but I choose the softcover almost always. I like the feel of it. I like the casualness of pages that don't mind the dog ears. I like the ability to drop it in my purse and take it wherever.
The last book I read:
By the Sea by Abdulrazak Gurnah, a poetic, engrossing journey of love and betrayal from the perspective of an antique dealer from Zanzibar who has lost everything and is now a refugee in the UK. He has been directed not to speak English as it may interfere with his asylum application. The translator chosen for him happens to be his sworn enemy from back home. The story is the journey of each that brought them together in England. It is a beautifully written novel that is as engrossing as it is illuminating.
Author Interview - Nadine Bjursten | The Last Book I Read
Pen & paper or computer:
I love pen and paper and can't walk by a bookstore or stationery shop without looking at and buying a beautiful notebook. I make notes and scribble in these but when the serious writing starts, it is my laptop that sees the action.
Book character I think I’d be best friends with:
Oh, that must be Mrs. Ramsey from To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf. It is maybe not the first character one thinks of as a friend, as she is somewhat aloof and in her own world, at least according to Lily Broscoe, but her maternal instincts, introspection, and clear insights draw me to her. She would be the kind of friend one could look at and understand each other without having to say anything. She is the kind of friend one would be able to laugh hysterically with.
If I weren’t an author, I’d be a:
Gardener or a botanist
Favorite decade in fashion history:
30s
Place I’d most like to travel:
Sri Lanka. I have traveled all over the world but not yet Sri Lanka. I would love to take in the national parks, the ancient landmarks, a tea plantation, and visit friends.
My signature drink:
Lime, mint, cucumber, home-made syrup.
Favorite artist:
Mozart. The more years that pass, the more I am impressed by this artist who produced so many phenomenal works (800) before he died at 35. Many are still trying to figure out their life goals at that age.
Number one on my bucket list:
Creating a wondrous garden and buying many acres of depleted land and planting a healthy, diverse forest.
Find more from the author:
https://www.facebook.com/authorNadineBjursten
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/43032740.Nadine_Bjursten
https://nadine-bjursten.medium.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nadine-bjursten/
https://www.pinterest.se/nadinebjursten
https://www.bookbub.com/authors/nadine-bjursten
https://bookshop.org/p/books/half-a-cup-of-sand-and-sky-nadine-bjursten/20552408?ean=9789198861617,
About Nadine Bjursten:
From New York, Nadine Bjursten has spent more than a decade researching Iran’s rich cultural and political history. She is the previous editor of foreign policy journal Arms Control Today and press liaison for the Global Security Institute. She now lives in Lund, Sweden, with her husband and twin daughters.
