Tasmanian author Richard Flanagan discussed his 2023 book Question 7 during the Jaipur Literature Festival, revealing how a mistaken dementia diagnosis spurred its creation. The work, which blends memoir, history, and travelogue, won the 2024 Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction. Flanagan shared insights into his personal influences and the role of literature.
Richard Flanagan, the Tasmanian author known for his 2014 Man Booker Prize-winning novel The Narrow Road to the Deep North, recently opened up about his writing process at the Jaipur Literature Festival. His latest book, Question 7, published in 2023, emerged from a period of urgency following a misdiagnosis of early onset dementia. Given just 12 months to organize his affairs, Flanagan instead channeled the experience into exploring themes of life and love through the stories of his family.
The diagnosis, later corrected as a radiologist's error in reading an MRI scan, prompted 11 months of reflection on kindness, gratitude, and human values. Question 7 weaves personal narratives, including his father's internment in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp, his mother's resilience amid restrictive gender roles, and Flanagan's childhood aspiration to become a writer at age four. It also recounts a near-drowning incident, with the book dedicated to his rescuer. These elements highlight periods of light and darkness in his life, drawing from Tasmania's communal world.
Flanagan noted the emotional impact of reader connections, such as one attendee whose mother's story echoed his own. In the interview, he emphasized literature's purpose: "Books are just an expression of life; when books succeed, they succeed because they reflect the chaos and mystery at the heart of ourselves." On his mother, he said, "She was trapped in oppressive ideas of gender and domesticity... but she transcended it."
Inspired by Anton Chekhov, whose story titles the book, Flanagan poses questions about existence and forgotten histories, including Australia's unacknowledged crimes against Indigenous people. He cautioned against imposing responsibilities on writers, stating, "Novels really only have one duty which is not to be boring." Latin American authors like Jorge Luis Borges and Gabriel García Márquez profoundly influenced him, offering a narrative style that resonated with his Tasmanian roots despite cultural differences.
Flanagan is currently shaping two new books. Meanwhile, The Narrow Road to the Deep North was adapted into a web series last year, featuring actors Jacob Elordi, Odessa Young, and Ciarán Hinds.
