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Lawrence Osborne Biography, Books, and Similar Authors

Author Biography  | Interview  | Books by this Author  | Read-Alikes

Lawrence Osborne
Photo: Ine Gundersveen

Lawrence Osborne

Lawrence Osborne Biography

Lawrence Osborne was born in England and today lives in Bangkok. A widely published and widely traveled journalist, he is the author most recently of Only to Sleep, Beautiful Animals and Hunters in the Dark. He has lived a nomadic life in Mexico, Italy, France, Morocco, Cambodia and Thailand, places that he draws on in his fiction and non-fiction. The Forgiven from 2012 is set in Morocco and his 2014 novel The Ballad of Small Player in the casinos of Macau. His short stories have appeared in magazines such as Tin House, Bidoun and Fiction, and his story "Volcano" was included in Best American Short Stories of 2012. All four of his recent novels are currently in production as feature films.

Lawrence Osborne's website

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Interview

Lawrence Osborne discusses the intersection between fiction and reality, and why he chose Morocco as the setting for his novel, The Forgiven.

Is The Forgiven based on a true story?

Yes, though I reworked it to fit my own idea of a story. The characters are mine, and I was very familiar with the landscape in which the story occurs long before I heard the tale that I eventually used. In fact, the original story immediately reminded me of a place where I had spent a lot of time years before. And it seemed probable. It resonated with what I remembered of my own sometimes difficult relations when staying in the Sahara—that feeling of not knowing where you are, or not knowing if the surface and depth of other people are aligned or whether they exist in the same context as you do. The Westerner there is always alone and slightly bewildered.

You've been all over the world as a travel writer. Why did you choose Morocco as the setting for your novel?

I had lived there for a while, and I also made a trip into the desert near Erfoud and Rissani to explore fossils. The mountain of Issomour had been so impressive to me—I could not stop thinking about it for years. There was a kind of dread about it that was difficult to express. And the villages around it, which I have described (though the names are altered slightly), were always incredibly ominous and ...

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Books by this Author

Books by Lawrence Osborne at BookBrowse
The Glass Kingdom jacket Beautiful Animals jacket Hunters in the Dark jacket The Ballad of a Small Player jacket
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Read-Alikes

All the books below are recommended as read-alikes for Lawrence Osborne but some maybe more relevant to you than others depending on which books by the author you have read and enjoyed. So look for the suggested read-alikes by title linked on the right.
How we choose read-alikes

  • Leila Aboulela

    Leila Aboulela

    Leila Aboulela won the first Caine Prize for African Writing and is the author of many novels. Minaret was longlisted for the 2006 Orange Prize. The Translator was one of The New York Times 100 Notable Books of the Year. ... (more)

    If you enjoyed:
    The Forgiven

    Try:
    Minaret
    by Leila Aboulela

  • Ian Frazier

    Ian Frazier

    Frazier grew up in Hudson, Ohio - his father worked as a chemist for Sohio, and his mother was an amateur actor, performing and directing plays in local Ohio theaters. Frazier attended Western Reserve Academy, and later ... (more)

    If you enjoyed:
    The Forgiven

    Try:
    Travels in Siberia
    by Ian Frazier

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