Love and hope in the time of despair: Man Booker winner Richard Flanagan

How the poignant novel, The Narrow Road To The Deep North, was inspired by the infamous Thailand-Burma Death Railway of WWII.

Richard Flanagan has red rimmed eyes and an air of suspended bewilderment on Wednesday, the morning after winning the Man Booker prize in London on Oct 14. Immediately after giving a charming acceptance speech that paid warm homage to his fellow contenders, he was rushed into interviews until the small hours, then roused from not-quite-sleep at 6:30am for the next round.