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Bookworm: Tim Hannigan: Creative non-fiction
JP/Hans DavidAuthor Tim Hannigan visited Indonesia for the first time 13 years ago and has been hooked on the country ever since
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JP/Hans David
Author Tim Hannigan visited Indonesia for the first time 13 years ago and has been hooked on the country ever since.
Hannigan has spent more than a decade to compile materials for his latest book, titled A Brief History Of Indonesia ' Sultans, Spices and Tsunamis: The Incredible Story of Southeast Asia's Largest Nation.
The book he wrote could have become just another non-fiction history piece about Indonesia, but he presents it in a very entertaining way, with a refreshing touch compared to other history books.
Hannigan said he honed his skills in writing entertaining non-fiction by reading a lot of fiction works.
'What I write, I call it creative non-fiction. So it is non-fiction, it is history, but it is written in a creative way. So, actually I read a lot of fiction and a really broad range of fiction, because I use fictional techniques,' Hannigan said.
'My original writing heroes are Bruce Chatwin and Ernest Hemingway when I was young. When I just really want to relax, I like to read spy novels,' he said. 'I try to be inspired by techniques in writing fiction.'
However, his top three books of all time are non-fiction works, and all of them, according to him, have the same entertaining characteristics as his own works.
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'The Way of The World'
by Nicolas Bouvier
He wrote in French. He was from Switzerland and he made a journey from Europe to Afghanistan in the 1950s, and it was just the most inspiring travel books. It always makes me want to travel. That one I love.
'Kim'
by Roger Kipling
It's a book about India during the British period. It has some of the best writing about places, on how to capture the feeling of a place. So for anyone with an interest in travel writing, it is just beautiful. And it is the only book that I can read again and again and again. I have read it about 20 times and I am sure I will read it plenty more times in my life.
'After The Ancestors: An Anthropologist Story'
by Andrew Beatty
It's about Nias, Sumatera, where he did research in the 1980s and it's the best book I have ever read in the last 12 months. It's a really incredible book by a professional anthropologist. It's a true story, but it is written in a literary style, and it is not very well known. It has only been reviewed in a few places, but it should be famous. A really brilliant piece of literary non-fiction.
