Written by Sam Ali
This is definitely different from my usual reads—but it was such a beautiful story! Sonia Faruqi has such a talent for building up such an incredible world through poignant, and fluid writing. Faruqi was able to eloquently create complex characters in a magical, underwater world. I loved reading Coralline and Izar’s adventures through coral reefs, and creating such a dreamy, refreshing, and heartening read.
Sonia Faruqi first made her writing debut with her book, Project Animal Farm. A novel about that the world’s food system inspired by her visit to a dairy farm. She dropped everything she knew, to travel and find solutions to benefit animals, health, and environment. Now, Faruqi has turned to imagination in her newest book, The Oyster Thief.
I had the pleasure of having Sonia on RWS to answer a few questions! Check it out below fellow bookworms!
Who’s your favourite author?
People are often surprised when I say Ayn Rand. But I find her writing beautiful and I love how she combines purpose and art in her works, particularly Atlas Shrugged. Her life story is also inspiring—she arrived in the U.S. as a poor immigrant from Russia and became among the greatest literary voices of the last century.
Favourite book or genre to read?
I read across genres spanning nonfiction and fiction. Some books that have particularly resonated with me are The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey, and Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling.
When was the moment you realised that you loved literature?
I can’t think of one particular moment, but I’ve loved reading ever since I was a girl. I wrote my first stories when I was nine!
What made you want to be a writer?
I love lots of topics and have lots of interests. Writing is one of those interests, and also a way to explore my other interests through this channel of expression.
What inspired you to write your first book, “Project Animal Farm?”
One night, I arrived at the doorstep of a dairy farm looking for a rural volunteer vacation. I had no idea then that the visit would mark the beginning of a journey that would ultimately wind all the way around the world. Concerned by issues of animal welfare and the environment, I decided to search the planet for solutions. My journey took me from egg warehouses in Canada to dairy feedlots in the United States, from farm offices in Mexico to lush green fields in Belize, from villages in Indonesia to bustling cities in Malaysia.
Over the course of living with farmers, hitchhiking with strangers, and risking my life, I developed surprising insights and solutions—both about the food industry and myself.
What gave you the inspiration for your newest novel, “The Oyster Thief?” Why the change in genres?
The Oyster Thief journey began as organically as the Project Animal Farm journey. I wasn’t planning it. The idea of an underwater world fell into my mind on January 1st, 2015. It was a freezing-cold morning in Canada, and I wished I could escape into tropical waters. But it was too expensive to book a last-minute flight, so I decided to escape in my mind. With a cup of tea in hand, I started inventing an underwater world.
I found that I really enjoyed disappearing underwater for hours at a time through the novel, and I hope readers do as well!
Did your writing process change at all when you began writing this book, compared to any writing you’ve done before?
I had the impression that nonfiction requires research and planning, and fiction doesn’t. Boy was I wrong about that! After spending about two thousand hours on my manuscript, I decided to throw it all out and start from scratch.
Making the underwater world feel “real” required considerable research, I found. The challenge, however, is that researching the ocean is not like researching things on land. Parts of the ocean are less known to scientists than the moon. And of the millions of species thought to live in the ocean, the majority are unknown to us. To get my bearings underwater and depict the deep blue as accurately as possible, I snorkelled, scuba-dived, swam with sharks, and pored over books and countless articles about the ocean.
All the animals and algae you’ll see mentioned in The Oyster Thief are true-to-life. Even the names of all the characters are scientifically grounded, drawn from the sea and the stars. The Oyster Thief is also current in its themes. For instance, the book contains a premise of underwater diamond mining that was fictional when I started the book but has, just last year, become fact.
Can we expect any more books from you coming up?
There may be a sequel to The Oyster Thief.
Do you have any advice for young writers out there?
Don’t be afraid to take big, bold steps, including starting over.
Faruqi’s novel The Oyster Thief will be available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers. You can also find her on her website.
Will you be checking out The Oyster Thief? Tell us in the comments below!
Synopsis | Goodreads
“It took her a journey across the ocean to learn what she knew of love and fear and hate, but the essence of it came to her in an instant, as she succumbed to the churning black depths of the deep sea.”
Coralline is a shy mermaid in the Atlantic Ocean whose idyllic life is ruined by an oil spill that gravely sickens her little brother. Desperate to save him, she embarks on a quest to find a legendary elixir.
She encounters a human man, Izar, who’s left his life on land behind to find a cure for his dying father. He doesn’t tell her that his family runs Ocean Dominion, an enemy corporation whose ships plunder her waters daily.
Fate pushes the two of them together, even though their worlds are at odds. Accompanied by a colorful troupe of animals, Coralline and Izar travel through coral reefs and seabed cities, trailed by murderous adversaries and warring ships. Their secrets threaten to tear them apart, while a growing attraction adds to the danger. Ultimately, each of them faces an impossible choice. Should Coralline remain with the world she knows, including her fiancé, or should she relinquish everything for a stranger who might betray her? And Izar holds a secret of his own—one that might cause him to lose Coralline forever.
Magnificent and moving, set against a breathtaking ocean landscape, The Oyster Thief is an enthralling fantasy destined to become a classic.
