The Ukrainian author on the joys of Jack London, cracking Hermann Hesse, and the soldier’s tale he can no longer reread

My earliest reading memory
My grandmother’s medical encyclopedias. She was a military surgeon during the second world war and then a doctor for children with tuberculosis. I spent five years of my childhood in her house. I really only looked at the pictures of tumours and wounds, but my curiosity forced me to decode the annotations, which were, as you can imagine, not designed for an emergent reader.

My favourite book growing up
Martin Eden by Jack London. The main character’s dream of becoming a writer – his tremendously strong will – was probably what captivated me most.