Elchin Safarli: I was very warmly welcomed in Moscow

The International Book Fair in Moscow held a meeting with the famous Azerbaijani writer Elchin Safarli. The writer told Vestnik Kavkaza that this has been his first visit to the Moscow Book Fair and he is very happy with such a great reception, which loaded him with warmth and energy.

"For the first time in six years of cooperation with the publishing house AST I'm taking part in the Moscow International Fair. And the funny thing is that the guest of honor of the fair this year is Persian literature, Iran. This is the third meeting in September in connection with the release of 'I Want To Go Home'. And they were also great. Most importantly, they inspired me not only by their number, they inspired by the ocean of energy and warmth that I received," Safarli said.

The writer said that in his books he addresses the reader with an appeal to go forward to meet his fate. "I want to tell the reader what I'd want to say to myself. And if I would like to say that I have places where I need to go. And I believe there is such a place and I will certainly go there. And along the way I will meet a lot of interesting people who will teach me something, without knowing it," he noted.

"I am generally against any comparisons, not only among creative people, but people in general. There is a feature to compare people with each other, compare yourself with someone else, someone better, someone happier, someone thinner, someone who has a better husband or wife. In fact, comparison is the first way to disappointment. We are all unique. And this is our specialty," the writer noted.

Therefore he regarded comparisons of him with the Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk as inappropriate. "I like him, respect him, but I think that we are different," Safarli stressed.

The writer said that only time will tell about the purpose of his life. "Let's meet later, at the awarding of the Nobel Prize, I'll tell you about it," he said.

Talking about his home, Elchin Safarli put his hand to his heart and said: "The house is here, the geographical location is not always important."

"A book is a culture, a book is a touch, a smell, a crunch. For me it is important. Now I'm reading Peter Høeg, this Scandinavian author, whom I respect a lot. I read Turkish authors, not only Orhan Pamuk," he said.

"We will have a break in Istanbul, and we will visit St. Petersburg to meet the readers of my new book. And afterwards, of course, I will write another new book," Elchin Safarli concluded.