Meet Bristol-based author, Roger White.
What’s your connection to Bristol and what makes the city so unique in your opinion?
I moved here in 1973 to start an alternative school and became involved with many exciting projects and remarkable people (and met my wife), so we’ve lived here ever since. Bristol buzzes with creative energy and a depth of community activity that nourishes residents in every neighbourhood. I am pleased to be living in such a diverse city and the first in the UK to elect a black mayor of African descent, who grew up on a Bristol council estate and went to local schools. David Olusoga’s powerful BBC documentary Statue Wars about the removal of the Colston statue, and its subsequent display in M Shed, illuminates the leadership that catalysed public engagement in a wide-ranging and unique debate about how to better understand Bristol’s complex mosaic of history.
For those who don’t know, tell us about your new book Degrees of Separation…
Degrees of Separation is both a love story and a war story, weaving connecting threads between China and Britain in WW2, and modern-day London and Chengdu (capital of Sichuan province, home to the pandas and our three-year-old grand-daughter!). It explores the remarkable coincidences that wind through generations and across cultures. I hope readers find the story uplifting. It draws on China’s heroic (but little-known) role in the Second World War and celebrates the richness of the country’s culture and history.
Where did you find the inspiration for your novel?
The inspiration came from visits to Chengdu, in the far west of China, where our eldest son has lived since 2010. We discovered the city was bombed as badly as London in the Blitz, and that 30 million Chinese people were killed during WW2 – equivalent to half the entire population of the British Isles. Until then, I had no idea that, without China’s involvement as an ally to Britain and the USA, it might have been a very different outcome for the world in 1945. When I met a 95-year-old Chinese soldier in a home for war-veterans in Chengdu, who talked about how he’d walked to Burma in 1942, with other Chinese Army comrades, to rescue British soldiers encircled by Japanese forces, I knew there was a story that had to be told.
What did you learn while writing Degrees of Separation?
I learnt (again) that political leaders create wars and ordinary people suffer the consequences, but that the human spirit can overcome adversity. We have had Ukranian guests staying with us since war erupted there, and are aware of the same tragic narrative in Ukraine.
Appreciating that China is an ancient culture, abundant in beauty and history, whose people are warm and welcoming to visitors. Its achievements are impressive, such as providing half of the world’s investment in renewable energy, building 25,000 miles of high-speed train track and creating 101 cities of over one million people, where citizens are safe from crime. We have visited many times and always been met by kindness and generosity of spirit. Of course, every country, including our own, has a shadow side.
Where do you go to be entertained/inspired?
Cycling across College Green and Castle Park or walking around the docks, I am inspired by the sight of so many people having fun with friends. Taking part in the Bristol 10K each year is equally uplifting, encouraged by rythmic bands, young volunteers distributing water, and people cheering on runners of all ages and abilities. Likewise, seeing all parts of the city and local stories celebrated in M Shed, experiencing terrific music and dynamic theatre at many venues, and enjoying events at our iconic Watershed and Arnolfini… the list is almost endless because Bristol bubbles with vitality and talent.
If you could have dinner with anyone from any era, who would it be and why?
Dinner with our grand-daughter, Xu Ru Xi (English name Ava), on her 80th birthday, at the start of the 22nd century, to find out how humanity sorted the climate crisis and (hopefully) abolished war.
What is your philosophy in life?
Time is precious, everything is connected, concentrate on the moment.
Buy Degrees of Separation by Roger White at Waterstones, WH Smith and Amazon, £10.99
