British novelist Mischa Hiller is making quite an impact on the literary scene these days. His 2010 debut novel “Sabra Zoo” recently won the Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best First Novel for the Europe and South Asia region. At the same time the London publisher Telegram has published his second novel, a spy thriller entitled “Shake Off”, to much critical praise. Following the prize, “Sabra Zoo” is now in the running for the overall Commonwealth First Novel prize, in competition with the winners of the First Novel prizes in the three other Commonwealth regions – Africa; Canada and the Caribbean; and South East Asia and Pacific. The winner of the £5,000 prize will be announced on May 21 at the Sydney Writers' Festival. So far, one translation of “Sabra Zoo” has appeared: an Italian edition issued by Rome-based publisher Newton Compton under the title “Fuga dall'inferno. Una storia palestinese”. “Sabra Zoo” is set in Beirut during the Israeli siege of summer 1982. Its horrific climax is the massacre of hundreds, or thousands, of defenseless Palestinians in Sabra and Shatila refugee camps. Warmth and vitality are breathed into this dark setting through the novel's appealing Palestinian-Danish first-person narrator, 18-year old Ivan. As well as working as an interpreter in a hospital with a multinational staff, Ivan is a fixer for the foreign media and a courier of forged documents and passports between PLO operatives. The protagonist and narrator of “Shake Off” is a Palestinian in his early twenties, Michel Khoury, whose PLO mentor and handler Abu Leila has sent him to London as an undercover operative. It is 1989, and Michel is enrolled as a student at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) as a cover. He lives in a basic bedsit in the Tufnell Park area of North London. Michel was orphaned at the age of 15 when Phalangists massacred his family in Sabra camp in 1982. He is intelligent and quick-witted, with an acute eye for the ridiculous. But he is also isolated, keeping his distance from others in case his cover is blown. His addiction to codeine painkillers is one sign of his lasting trauma. Michel constantly puts his KGB training into action as he juggles multiple identities, shifts and hides large amounts of cash, liaises with go-betweens to the Occupied Territories, sends coded messages to Abu Leila in Berlin – and tries to shake off anyone who might be following him. Abu-Leila wants to host a secret meeting in England between Palestinians and Israelis to discuss a secular, democratic, one-state solution and to pre-empt talks planned for Norway (which would ultimately lead to the 1993 Oslo agreement). He asks Michel to find a venue, and Michel suggests Cambridge. Michel jokingly refers to the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad as “the competition”; in reality, “the idea of PLO security competing with such an organization was laughable”. When a package from the Occupied Territories comes into Michel's hands he is aware that “the competition” is shadowing him. Certain Palestinian elements are also interested in the package. Michel goes on the run to Scotland with Helen, a fellow occupant of his house with whom he has become involved. “Shake Off” is ingeniously plotted and skillfully paced, and interlaces compelling human stories with political espionage. The suspense builds until the very end. Hiller was born in England in 1962. He grew up in London, Dar es Salaam and Beirut, and now lives in Cambridge, England, with his wife and children. He has concentrated on writing fiction since having to give up his full time work as an Information Systems Manager because he suffers from the debilitating illness myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME). (Mischa Hiller was interviewed via email) What does winning the Commonwealth Writers' Prize mean to you, and how important is it to you that the 1982 Sabra and Shatila massacre is commemorated in this way? It came as a complete surprise to win the regional award and it is a great boost to a writer to be acknowledged in this way. Part of the satisfaction of winning is that it puts the events in “Sabra Zoo” on the English-speaking literary map, which is one of the reasons I wrote the book, so this accolade is very important to me in that respect. Has winning the prize had discernible effects so far, for example in expanding the readership of “Sabra Zoo”? Yes, there has been renewed interest in “Sabra Zoo”, as a result of both the Commonwealth award and the publication of “Shake Off”. The current phase of Arab revolution has led to discussion of the role of fiction in giving insights. Do you feel a sense of mission in reminding us of Palestinian history? Fiction has an important role to play in conveying the effects of injustice, particularly on the personal level, although the only mission I feel I am on is to tell a good story. Having said that, there are certain things you want to say as a writer, or to bring attention to, like I did in “Sabra Zoo”, but it has to be wrapped up in something palatable to the reader. Nobody wants to read anything polemical or dishonest. Why did you decide to move into the literary spy fiction field with “Shake Off”, and what challenges did writing it pose? The quick answer is that I enjoy thrillers, so I wanted to try to write one. It goes back to what I said about making things palatable to the reader, and a thriller makes a good vehicle for politics. Writing a thriller does present its own set of problems, and there are certain genre expectations that must be met, so plotting has to be more carefully done. Where did you obtain the knowledge which provided a basis for Michel's KGB training and his grooming by Abu Leila? It all has the ring of authenticity. I'm obviously pleased it rings true! The secret is lots of research and talking to the right people. Michel is an intriguing character. Is he based on anyone you know, and why did you decide to make him a Christian (albeit a non-drinking one)? I deliberately made him a Christian because I wanted to subvert the expectation that all Palestinians are Muslims, and at the same time make him even more of an outsider, even back at home in the camps. The only thing I have in common with Michel is that as a student I lived in a similar bedsit at the same time in London, and we are both teetotal! In 2009 you won the European Independent Film Festival script competition for the screen adaptation of “Sabra Zoo”. Are you also going to write a script for “Shake Off”? There has always been sporadic interest in “Sabra Zoo” as a film, and this has renewed recently, but it has yet to be optioned. I would like nothing better than to have these events immortalized on film. I was told that people in the Beirut camps were watching “Waltz with Bashir” (despite it being banned in Lebanon) because it touched on their experience – imagine their delight if a film were made that showed what happened to them center stage. But a lot of things have to fall into place for a film to happen. I do plan to adapt “Shake Off”, and it could be that it would be an easier (ie cheaper) film to make than “Sabra Zoo”. At a time when marketing and hype play a big part – some would argue too big a part – in presenting new authors to the public, you have a relatively low public profile. Do you intend to raise your profile at all in terms of eg appearances at literary festivals here or abroad? Ill health prevents me from doing a lot of this sort of thing even if I wanted to, which I don't particularly. I am a strong believer in the work speaking for itself, and feel no desire to take the limelight, even though, as you say, it seems to be expected. A lot of writers like it, and are very engaging, but some writers should just stick to writing. However, I am always pleased to know that my books are being appreciated and I love to hear directly from readers and be interviewed about my writing! What are you working on at the moment – and will Palestine remain at the core of your novel writing? What I am writing now has nothing to do with Palestine (although there is a minor character in it who is Palestinian!) and I am keen not to be pigeonholed as a writer. That doesn't mean I won't return to the topic.
