IN BRIEF


Black Focus Q&A: William Rayfet Hunter


As told to Natasha Onwuemezi


William


Rayfet Hunter Writer and doctor


William Rayfet Hunter is a British- Jamaican writer and doctor. Sunstruck, their debut novel, won the #Merky Books New Writers’ Prize 2022


22 31st May 2024


1 Could you tell us about Sunstruck?


Sunstruck is primarily a story about power. It follows two young men—one, white, rich, and connected, the other none of those things—aſter they meet on a sun-drenched holiday at the former’s chateau in the south of France. Aſter returning to London, the pair’s bond is tested by their pasts, the expectations put on them and the power structures from which they cannot escape. It is a novel about desire, secrets, and what parts of ourselves we try to hide in order to be loved.


2 Where did the idea come from?


I had the idea during a long drive one summer when the character Felix [the rich white character mentioned earlier] popped into my head almost fully formed. I pulled at the thread of “what if” and by the time I reached where I was going, the story had unspooled in my mind. Though it took a few years for me to get it into any working order. I suppose the book is a reflection on past relationships and experiences, though I can’t point to one specific moment that inspired the story.


© Bryce McCoy


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