Anuk Arudpragasam's first novel, The Story of a Brief Marriage was called an unflinching debut - a feat of extraordinary sensitivity and imagination, a meditation on the fundamental elements of human existence

His writing has been variously described as 'absolutely devastating, unbearable reading, incredibly introspective and a portrait of the universe that zooms out from planet Earth and then back in to a quark'.

Anuk's second novel, The Passage North, which was on the 2021 booker prize shortlist is said to be written with precision and grace, and a masterful piece that is an attempt to come to terms with life in the wake of devastation, and a poignant memorial for those lost and those still alive.

In this episode of BIC Talks, scientist, author and editor of Out of Print magazine Indira Chandrashekar speaks to Anuk about the evolution of his writing.

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