India, Nov. 15 -- You've mentioned that Flesh was not the intended title of the book initially; it was just a placeholder of sorts. What made you stick with it as the final title?

As you say, it was a working title, which I assumed would probably be replaced. In the end, [my editor and I] decided it was actually the best title for the book. The fact that it came to me instinctively as the working title probably indicated that. Initially, we felt it was a bit rough and made people uneasy - but we eventually decided that it was a good thing. It did seem a bit unliterary, but now I think that's definitely a good thing. There were other options - something like "A Life" was briefly considered, but that felt weak. In German, it has a complete...