I Wish I’d Written: Clare Weze

Clare Weze on the books that gave her writing permission to fly.

The book(s) I wish I’d written is the His Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pullman. Many people rave about this series, but on first reading it, I actually stopped writing for a while. Pullman had nailed almost everything I wanted to say! When I recovered, my writing was wilder. I’d had permission to fly.

Pullman fuses all the key aspects of a perfect read – including great characters and amazing world-building – and overlays them with exactly my kind of science and philosophy. He seems to say, ‘Come here, look at this amazing scientific fact and see how it’s connected to this other one, and to this philosophical theory, and this is why it’s all vital to Lyra’s next move.’ There’s death, particle physics, abandoned children, mind-body dualism; I could get very jealous indeed. He uses archaic names for things like petroleum (naphtha) and electricity (anbaric current). Why didn’t I think of that? It gives these things such a magical, other-worldly sheen.

Then there are the glorious names for people and animals: Pantalaimon; Stelmaria (swoon!); Serafina Pekkala (wow). And there’s chocolatl. I know exactly how it would taste: like hot chocolate, but darker, more honeyed and perhaps with undertones of brandy. Lastly, Lyra is the most gorgeous, relatable main character ever.

Clare Weze was raised in London and Yorkshire and has British and Nigerian heritage. She writes for adults and children and has always written around her day job, starting out as a hairdresser in London’s West End, then moving on to a science degree, postgraduate studies and work in the fields of biomedical and environmental research. The Lightning Catcher was her debut novel for children, and Clare also contributed a story to Happy Here, the anthology of stories from 10 Black British writers and illustrators. Her latest book, The Storm Swimmer, is published this month by Bloomsbury Children’s Books, 978-1526622211, £7.99 pbk.