At the end of the day, it's about the reader's attachment to and belief in the magical elements that make or break magical realism.

My grandfather and I were very close.

I grew up in Cyprus and Egypt, these fantastic places I remember fondly.

When you're in a place, the details you focus on are different than details you focus on when you're writing about it.

I do no writing while I'm in Belgrade visiting my grandma.

In terms of people that I know, my grandmother and my mother are huge influences on my writing life because they are both massively supportive and always have been of my career.

When men die, they die in fear", he said. "They take everything they need from you, and as a doctor it is your job to give it, to comfort them, to hold their hand. But children die how they have been living - in hope. They don't know what's happening, so they expect nothing, they don't ask you to hold their hand - but you end up needing them to hold yours. With children, you're on your own. Do you understand?