The regional winners of the Commonwealth book prize 2013 write about their favourite books from the prize's catchment area
EE Sule
Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie
My favourite novel, over the years, has remained Salman Rushdie's masterpiece, Midnight's Children. On the one hand is its electric language that has, at every encounter, given me great inspiration; and on the other hand is the incredible, mind-boggling blend of the public and the private spheres of life which shows off how dazzlingly intricate and versatile a writer's mind can be. The novel is as deep as it is lengthy, and has sufficient intrigues and running humour to keep one reading to the end, and even wanting more. Coming from a tradition where writing cannot avoid being political, Midnight's Children remains, for me, the best example of how to engage the public sphere.
• EE Sule is the regional winner for Africa, with Sterile Sky
Michael Sala
Darkness at Noon by Arthur Koestler
My favourite novel published by a writer in the Commonwealth. I love that the most interesting relationship in the book is conveyed entirely through the sound and rhythm of two people knocking on a wall. It's a very tightly-written book that, while set mainly in a prison and told only from one character's perspective, never feels claustrophobic. Although the fate of the protagonist – an old Bolshevik imprisoned during the Stalinist purges – is never really in doubt, the deceptively simple language and brilliant use of memory, the intensely focused imagery and the inventive use of perspective, carry the reader to a conclusion that is both startling in its psychological intimacy and deeply moving. It is, in my view, a perfect historical novel.
• Michael Sala is regional winner for the Pacific, with The Last Thread
Nayomi Munaweera
Wave: A Memoir of Life after the Tsunami by Sonali Deraniyagala
It's not often that we are taken on a journey into the true heart of grief and this was my experience reading this astounding memoir. The author lost her parents, her husband and two sons in the 2004 tsunami in Sri Lanka. I read this book on an international flight and often had to rest my head against the glass to weep. The book made me intensely grateful to be flying back to my loved ones. I am astounded by her courage and this is a book I will carry with me all my days.
• Nayomi Munaweera is the regional winner for Asia, with Island of a Thousand Mirrors
Ezekiel Alan
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
Growing up in Jamaica I was mainly exposed to literature from the Caribbean and other parts of the Commonwealth. There were many wonderful reads, from Great Expectations to Paradise Lost and, closer home, Claude McKay's delightful Banana Bottom. It was much later, however, that I came across the style of writing which would eventually influence my own work. It started with the American masterpiece Trout Fishing in America by Richard Brautigan. Later, I came across Anthony Burgess's A Clockwork Orange which stood out for me as an exceptional piece of literature. I found the novel brilliantly unconventional. I was particularly struck by Burgess's literary ingenuity; at times, it seemed he was able to construct comedy from the worst forms of human cruelty and depravity. I remember having an urge to laugh at the unusual prose and bizarre dialect even while I was being confronted with the absolute horror of the story unfolding. It was just so easy to lose sight of the evil that was clearly smiling at you from the pages. This is truly unique storytelling.
• Ezekiel Alan is the regional winner for the Caribbean, with Disposable People: Inspired by True Events
Lisa O'Donnell
Tony Hogan Bought Me an Ice Cream Before He Stole My Ma, by Kerry Hudson
Tony Hogan was my favourite read of 2012. It has a wicked opening line but I'm fairly confident it could not be printed in a family newspaper. Kerry was brought up in a succession of council estates and the story evolved from her own experiences living in Bed and Breakfasts and welfare housing. It is a coming-of-age story about Janie, born into a family of fishwives from Aberdeen and living amidst domestic violence, unemployment drink, and drugs. Janie is a natural survivor and, through all the neglect, abandonment and poverty, you will reach for her in every page. The honesty in Hudson's pen overwhelms with its perception and wisdom. This is a raw tale but not without tenderness and though you'll cry as I did, you will also laugh.
• Lisa O'Donnell is the regional winner for the UK and Europe with The Death of Bees
Review your favourite Commonwealth book and have a chance of winning a set of the five regional winners form the 2013 Commonealth book prize. Find out how to enter here.
• The Commonwealth book prize shortlist in pictures
via Books: Fiction | guardian.co.uk
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