From a New York Times By the Book interview headlined “Mohsin Hamid Is Working Through Literature, From the Top”:

“About five years ago, alongside my more contemporary reading, I decided to read from back to front, historically speaking,” says the author, whose new novel is “The Last White Man.” “I began with the Sumerian ‘Instructions of Shuruppak,’ first written in cuneiform on clay tablets around 4,600 years ago.”