A Singular and Open-Spirited Account of a Writer’s Life

In his first-ever work of nonfiction, Graham Swift—Booker Prize-winning author of Waterland and Last Orders—gives us a highly personal book, his auto biography, Making an Elephant.

Here Kazuo Ishiguro advises on how to choose a guitar; Salman Rushdie arrives for Christmas under guard; Caryl Phillips shares a beer with the author at a nightclub in Toronto. There are private moments with Swift’s father and with his own younger self, as well as musings—on history, memory, and imagination—that illuminate his work. As generous in its scope as it is acute in its observations, Making an Elephant brings together a richly varied selection of essays, portraits, poetry and interviews, full of insights into Swift’s passions and motivations, and wise about the friends, family and other writers who have mattered to him over the years.

“A sincere and affable appreciation of a life in letters…. An illuminating companion to Swift’s career…. Shines soft lights on his background, his influences, his travels, his friends and his aesthetic concerns.” —Los Angeles Times

“Pure indulgence—like hearing a favorite uncle tell tales of his marvelous youth.” —O, The Oprah Magazine

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