WHAT'S YOUR FAVOURITE?
What's Your Favourite...?
Acclaimed author Emma Donoghue shares her passion for Broadway shows and the world’s best bookstore.
By Nicole Keen
INSPIRATION IS NEVER IN SHORT SUPPLY for Dublin-born author Emma Donoghue. “I follow my whims. I follow my pleasure,” she shares. For her latest novel, The Paris Express, Donoghue’s imagination was captured by a photograph of a train wreck from 1895, and during a year-long sojourn in Paris, she was able to immerse herself in the research process for the novel. At home in London, Ont., Donoghue enjoys the unhurried pace of life and a great library at her doorstep.
PHOTO: COURTESY OF EMMA DONOGHUE
Powell’s Books flagship store, which spans an entire city block in downtown Portland, is author Emma Donoghue’s favoured bookstore. | PHOTO: © KUDA/COURTESY OF POWELL'S CITY OF BOOKS
Are there any places in Paris that became favourite haunts? I used to wander around the Montparnasse Cemetery all the time. A couple of the characters from The Paris Express are buried there.
Where would you love to travel by rail? The Flåm Railway in Norway takes you from the fjords right up to the mountains, with dazzling views on every side. I’m not a big fan of cars — I find them a bit confining — but trains are perfect because you can walk around and stretch. And the views are so much better.
What’s your favourite bookstore in the world? Powell’s City of Books in Portland, Oregon. It’s somehow shaped like an underground labyrinth and I always get lost in it. I just find it mysterious and exciting.
What do you enjoy doing when you’re not working? I try to go to New York once a year to see some Broadway shows and I go to Toronto [to see theatre] quite frequently.
What do you love most about living in London? It’s not a big city, [and] that does mean the pace of life is very easygoing, so people are not too busy to see you. We have close friends that we have dinner and sauna with every Friday, which is just magic.
When it comes to research, do you have a favourite library? I’m very fond of the D.B. Weldon Library at Western University because whatever I’ve been researching, I’ve found at least 10 books there [on the topic]. I’ve also been donating my archives to them, so it feels almost like visiting my own grave in advance! CAA
“I’m not a big fan of cars — I find them a bit confining — but trains are perfect.”
The Flåm Railway route traverses West Norway’s diverse, scenic terrain. | PHOTO: HILDA WEGES/ADOBE STOCK
INSPIRATION IS NEVER IN SHORT SUPPLY for Dublin-born author Emma Donoghue. “I follow my whims. I follow my pleasure,” she shares. For her latest novel, The Paris Express, Donoghue’s imagination was captured by a photograph of a train wreck from 1895, and during a year-long sojourn in Paris, she was able to immerse herself in the research process for the novel. At home in London, Ont., Donoghue enjoys the unhurried pace of life and a great library at her doorstep.
PHOTO: COURTESY OF EMMA DONOGHUE
