Penguin India bags rights for Kiran Desai’s new novel, Pamuk

Ravi Singh, editor-in-chief and publisher of Penguin India, said, "Being chosen to publish Orhan Pamuk is easily among the biggest moments in Penguin India’s history. Also it is a thrill and a privilege to publish a writer of Kiran’s astonishing skill..." Penguin India has acquired the subcontinent rights for two of the most eagerly sought after authors in the literary world — Booker Prize winner Kiran Desai’s new novel “The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny” and Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk’s next three works including his new novel “A Strangeness in My Mind“.

Desai became the youngest woman to win the Man Booker Prize when her second novel “The Inheritance of Loss” (Penguin India) won the coveted literary prize in 2006. “The Inheritance of Loss” went on to become an international bestseller, and has sold an astounding 190,000 copies in India alone.

“The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny” promises to be bigger and even more compelling. Bought on the basis of a brilliant four page synopsis, the rights to publish the novel have been hotly contested by all the leading publishers of the world. The novel will be published in 2012.

Full report here Hindu

Why Jesus didn't turn wine into water

It’s a myth that Sanskrit is the best language for writing computer code. Patriotic Indians have spread this lie for many years. - Bill Gates

There are some people whose books you don’t want to finish in a hurry because you know, instinctively, that your next read is unlikely to measure up.

Manu Joseph’s Serious Men ranks alongside the others in my list - books by Amitav Ghosh, Orhan Pamuk, Vikram Seth and Salman Rushdie.

His voice is so fresh that he ascribes quotes to Bill Gates the latter has no idea he is believed to have said. Well, in all fairness, it is Ayyan Mani, the protagonist of the novel, father of an acclaimed genius and resident of the BDD chawl in Mumbai who does this.

Inevitably, there have been comparisons to the driver from White Tiger. As the author himself confessed at a reading, he groaned when Aravind Adiga’s claim to fame came out.

“I was well into my book by then,” he says,” and I thought ‘Noooo!’”

But while Yann Martel’s and Adiga’s tigers didn’t impress me much, Manu Joseph’s writing is lyrical even when the thoughts he puts down on paper are coarse. Take the pages in the beginning, when the author gets into Ayyan Mani’s head, to describe the ‘long concrete stretch by the Arabian Sea’, made famous by the climactic scenes of Bollywood movies.

Full report here Sify

Pamuk: builder of museums and legacies

A writer who passionately embraces qualities of liberalism and universal equality, the works of Turkish writer are extremely rooted in the local context. Orhan Pamuk explains the contradictions and much more in an  exhaustive interview to The Hindu.

Full interview here

Enroute to Goa

Orhan Pamuk has not been a frequent visitor to India. That however is likely to change as he heads for Goa with his new partner, Kiran Desai.

Even as his latest book, The Museum of Innocence is acclaimed throughout the world, the book acknowledges the role Desai played. And the two are headed to Goa to work on their respective books. His book however will be on Istanbul.

“I’m going to Goa with my girlfriend Kiran," he said. "She is a beautiful and intelligent person. India should be proud of her.”

Related articles:
Goa retreat for Pamuk, girlfriend Kiran Desai Indian Express
'No secret, Kiran's my girlfriend' Times of India
'When you are in love, you're also egoistic and calculating' DNA
Orhan Pamuk unplugged Hindustan Times

Pamuk vows Bombay

Orhan Pamuk had bombay hanging on to hear his every word as leading bibliophimes turned up to hear his speak.

And he spoke at length of literature, his reason for writing, the use of different narratives for a historical novel, his experience with translation and other issues.

His latest book, The Museum of Innocence was released in 2008 and is a 600-page love story. It is being translated into English.

Pamuk, who has lived in and written on Istanbul, said he is very influenced by what he sees, he says. This self-discipline for 35 years had made him what he is.

His books reflect a sharp sense of otherness, that he admits to feeling all along. “I don’t belong, I always felt the sense of otherness. I don’t think I feel at home in the West or in a non-Western world,” he said.

Pamuk in Mumbai on Mar 5

Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk is to visit India on March 6.
He will be speaking at the Crossword, Kemps Corner.

A muse for Istanbul, Pamuk is described as one of most original voices in contemporary fiction. His books have sold over seven million copies globally, and have been translated into more than 50 languages, making him perhaps the most widely-read international writer today.

His best known novels are My Name is Red, The White Castle, The Black Book, The New Life and Snow.