Ben Okri, the Booker prize-winning novelist, has shared his views on life, death, and the art of lying in a wide-ranging interview. The 67-year-old author, who won the Booker in 1991 for The Famished Road, was knighted in 2023 for services to literature. His latest novel, Waking the Warriors, is published on 16 July.
On happiness and possessions
Okri said he was happiest on a train journey to Arcadia while making a TV documentary. His most treasured possession is a photograph of his parents. The most expensive thing he has bought, aside from property, is a Dalí painting.
On traits and habits
The trait he most deplores in himself is worrying at things, while in others he deplores coldness. His most unappealing habit, he admitted, is gargling loudly with salt water. He described himself in three words: 'Alchemy. Love. Resilience.'
On his worst job and life lessons
Okri revealed that the worst job he has ever done was 'looking after the flowerbed on my windowsill.' The most important lesson life has taught him, he said, is 'evolve or perish.'
On death and the afterlife
When asked what happens when we die, Okri replied: 'We don't die. We change realms. Life is eternal. Living is not. Live while you are alive.'
On love and lying
Okri described love as a 'cosmic force' and said he has never said 'I love you' without meaning it. On lying, he stated: 'Lying magically is my art, the art of storytelling.' He recalled the worst thing anyone said to him: 'You don't stand a chance of succeeding as a writer in this country. The demographics are against you.' He added: 'They were wrong. The only demographic that counts is the human heart.'
On his superpower and fears
His chosen superpower would be enlightenment. What scares him about getting older is 'not being there for my daughter.' He would bring back 'universal respect for the Earth' if he could revive something extinct.
On his career and legacy
Okri published his first novel, Flowers and Shadows, in 1980. His work Astonishing the Gods was selected in 2019 as one of the BBC's 100 novels 'that shaped our world.' He lives in London with his partner and their child. Asked what he would leave his children, he said: 'The wisdom to become who they are in the truth of their spirit.'
