‘I am a story teller’

With her second novel The Disappearance of Irene Dos Santos out recently, Margaret Mascarenhas opens up about how growing up in Venezuela has impacted her writing.

Eight years after Penguin India published her first novel Skin, Margaret Mascarenhas' latest novel The Disappearance of Irene Dos Santos was published in the U.S. by Hachette Book Group Inc. A novel set in Venezuela, The Disappearance of Irene Dos Santos is a differently crafted novel that gently reels in its reader into a story of love, family, belonging and the “search for individual truth”, set against a backdrop of revolution, uncertainty and change. Shortly after its India launch recently, Margaret Mascarenhas talks about the book, its subtext of resistance, growing up in Venezuela, and the influences on her work as a writer.

The Disappearance of Irene Dos Santos is an intriguingly crafted book. You've used magic realism a lot. The final chapter catches the reader completely by surprise.
Yes, everybody gets zapped by the end. But it's really up to the reader to decide if it's this or that. I grew up in South America, so magic realism is part of my psyche. But in this book, I turn magical realism completely on its head.Technically, I was doing several things. I am questioning the genre of magical realism. I am converting to writing an essentially oral cliff-hanger telenovela format. And I also tried to tell a story in a closed third person narration, through the point of view of nine characters that the reader must get in love with immediately, and never repeat a character, while pulling the base story line through those nine characters' point of view. I had to see if I could pull that off successfully. And I think I have.

When I write I find it's important for me to challenge myself technically, in story telling, in terms of format and the way I would present it. It took me five years to complete, but I can never feel any urgency to rush things until I am fully satisfied with the work myself.

Full interview here Hindu

A multi-layered perspective

The Absent State:
Insurgency as an Excuse
 for Misgovernance
Neelesh Misra, Rahul Pandita
Hachette; Rs 495; Pp 350

The challenge by naxalites in a third of the country (affecting 231 out of 636 districts) is India’s biggest internal security threat today. Does the Maoist movement shape popular resistance to the state’s power or does the movement use people’s struggles to bid for state power? Scholarly and activist accounts reflect two points of view. One view sees Maoists as being neither peasants nor workers nor tribals (Dilip Simeon), but who claim to represent their interests. Alternatively, the movement is seen as a rebellion of the people who are striving to save their land, forests, water and minerals from being grabbed and establish a people’s democratic state under the leadership of the proletariat(Gautam Navlakha). Led by the Communist Party of India (Maoist)—which was banned under the UAPA Act in June 2009—the armed insurgency has become a key challenge for the Indian state.

Neelesh Misra and Rahul Pandita’s The Absent State: Insurgency as an Excuse for Misgovernance has the virtue of reflecting both points of view by providing us with a rich, multi-layered perspective on the Naxal insurgency (comprising the bulk of the book). They tell a story of misgovernance, of an absent state, of the loss of perspective (where it is easy to be labeled a traitor or a terrorist), of security personnel fighting an impossible battle for their own survival, and of fading hopes for local democracy. Their style —which is highly readable and accessible to an uninformed audience—effectively high- lights a Roshomon-like picture of the insurgency—the state’s view, the Naxal cadre’s view, and the villager’s view—and the complex relationship between the absent state, the growing power of the insurgents, and the impact on the everyday lives of the citizens in those areas.

Full review here Financial Express

I know what you read this summer

Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight saga, Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games series, the Percy Jackson books by Rick Riordan: the names trip easily off their tongues. But ask them about Young Adult (YA) books written by Indian authors that rolled off the presses this past summer and you hear a studied silence.

“I generally don’t read books by Indian authors,” says Kinnisha Michellin Andrew, a third-year student of Mount Carmel college.

Andrew, a voracious reader, gets most of her recommendations for books from her college peer group or from social networks for bookworms (Shelfari, Goodreads). She is currently reading the latest in the Hunger Games series (Mockingjay) and Name of the Wind, the first book in yet another fantasy series The Kingkiller Chronicle by Patrick Rothfuss.

The hyper-success of Twilight was supposed to draw all these young readers into bookstores and into exploring the burgeoning YA literature from India. This past summer, a large number of young Indian writers have published their books; among them are Samit Basu with his Terror on the Titanic: A Morningstar Agency Adventure, star blogger Meenakshi Reddy Madhavan with The Confessions of a Listmaniac, Vodafone-Crossword book award winner Siddhartha Sarma with The Grasshopper’s Run (all three published by Scholastic India), Giti Chandra with The Fang of Summoning (Hachette India) and Tushar Raheja with Run Romi Run (Roli).

Full report here DNA

Good guys, bad guys

From a time of draining swamps and growing oranges, today’s era of cyber security and chip designing in Israel may seem too far removed to have anything in common. But there is a thread that runs right through, say Dan Senor and Saul Singer in ‘Start-Up Nation’ (www.TwelveBooks.com). Today’s entrepreneur, inventing a new drug or a new chip is “like a ‘falah’ (farmer in Arabic), a farmer of high tech,” they add, citing Erel Margalit, one of the top entrepreneurs in the country. “Innovation and technology are the twenty-first-century version of going back to the land.”

As for farming, too, it may be amazing to know that Israel has increased its agricultural yields seventeen times, over a quarter century. Agriculture, as a quote of Shimon Peres explains, is ‘ninety-five per cent science, five per cent work.’ Leave the old industries, there are going to be five new industries, he predicts. “New forms of energy, water, biotechnology, teaching devices – there’s a shortage of teachers – and homeland security to defend against terrorism.”

Full report here Hindu

Jolly good stuff

The book deals with the complex lives of two women who struggle to make their mark in the male dominated world of army.

The day is not too far off when a woman without a fancy haircut and lip balm will be dismissed as a tomboy. She's A Jolly Good Fellow explores the life of a no-nonsense woman, passionate about being in the Indian army in such a way that, towards the end, we don't dismiss her as a tomboy, rather we see her as an emotionally strong woman that we would want to be!

She's a Jolly Good Fellow by Sajita Nair is moderate chick-lit yet inspiring as it is set against the background of the Indian army. The story revolves around two women, Deepika and Anjali, who are second lieutenants in the Indian army and the challenges they face in a highly male-dominated set-up. They are posted near Darjeeling where they are the only two women. The fact that women are not taken seriously adds to their woes.

Full report here Hindu

Vampire mysteries

The Short Second Life Of Bree Tanner, a novella by Stephenie Meyer tells the story of Bree Tanner, a vampire first featured in The Twilight Saga's Eclipse.

The novella, primarily set in Seattle, is told from the viewpoint of Bree, a new born vampire who narrates her journey along with the members of her coven and vampire army as they unknowingly prepare to close in on Bella Swan and the Cullens.

Riley, the coven's leader whose main job was to lure humans, had captured Bree and probably the other members of the coven and taken them to their mysterious creator known to them only as ‘her'. Little did they know, they were entangled in a maze larger than they could have ever imagined.

Full report here Hindu

To choose or not

Sheena Iyengar's The Art of Choosing examines how culture influences the choices we make
Did you know that your decision to choose a particular brand of product says a lot about you? Nor did I until I spoke to Sheena Iyengar, author of “The Art Of Choosing”. A professor in Columbia University, Sheena, an expert on choice has put her thoughts and findings in her book to help us master the art of choice.

Sheena conducted her first experiment way back when she was in grad school and what began as curiosity about religion later expanded her research to include the concept of choice and why people make the choices they do. “I found that people who belonged to orthodox faiths were generally much happier than atheists.”

When Sheena chanced upon a study that argued that people's identity was a function of their cultural background she was intrigued, especially since she was Indian-American.

“I was interested in human motivation and culture and somehow it seemed that everything had to do with choice.”

Full report here Hindu

Saying it with wit

Humourist Melvin Durai's debut book, 'Bala Takes The Plunge' was launched in the city recently. In an exclusive chat, the author reveals what makes him witty.

Melvin Durai found the process of finding himself a bride so funny that it inspired him to write the novel, Bala Takes The Plunge (Hachette, Rs. 195). “It's hilarious how specific Indians get when it comes to choosing a partner. I remember one lady who wrote in a matrimonial ad that she wanted her husband to be exactly five feet eight inches tall. What if she finds the prefect guy, but… is five feet four inches? I find that laughable,” Melvin says while shaking his head.

Launched at Reliance TimeOut, Bala Takes The Plunge is about Balasubraniam (aka Bala aka Bill) from Madras who wants to make Tamil films with Rajnikanth, but instead is an engineer stuck in the US. His other wish is to find himself a wife before his parents find a conventional fair and “unspoilt” girl for him. The author weaves a humorous story around this main plot.

Melvin was born in Tamil Nadu, India, but grew up in Zambia when his parents moved there. Since the 1980s, he has been living in North America. He presently resides in Toronto, Canada. His humour columns have appeared in several publications in America, India and Zambia.

Full report here Hindu

Romance of power

Based on love and politics, Tuhin Sinha's latest book calls the youth to participate rather than crib about the state of affairs

“I have always had a flair for writing,” says this commerce graduate who despite his training in numbers and accountancy is the proud author of three successful books. Tuhin Sinha's journey began as a free lance journalist, and moved into scriptwriting for teleserials. It was in 2006 that Tuhin released his first novel, That Thing Called Love.

“You don't meet too many youngsters who are confident about writing,” says Tuhin about young writers.

This time Tuhin has pegged his story on politics. His latest book, Of Love and Politics, (Hachette, Rs. 250) plays upon the various turns relationships can take when two people feel strongly about ideologies, “The havoc created by ideological differences is the premise of the book, and it does deal with a lot of other issues.” In his book Tuhin calls for the youth to participate and make a difference rather than cribbing about existing conditions.

Tuhin is a columnist with the Times of India and he had done a series called Love Thy Leader where he brings in the disparate elements of love and politics and allows the two to converge.

Full report here Hindu

House warming

A Politburo member, a second-generation Congressman and a bureaucrat-turned-BJP MP shed ideological baggage to form a new political outfit. That is how this book ends. Before this, they shed their outfits.

In a progressive/democratic alliance struck between the sheets, a firebrand woman MP, impressed with a TV appearance in one instance and a speech in Parliament defending the civil nuclear deal in another, chats up a political adversary and accepts his invitation for a drink at a Delhi hotel. Sparks fly, conversations turn cosy and ideologies melt before you can say global warming.

Not that the merry troika is oblivious to the world around it. Round-the-clock television, SMS alerts and news websites are the staple diet for the young, urbane MPs. So, if you wanted a primer on the genesis of Hindu terror in the late 2000s, or the middle class's denouement after 26/11, or the Hyde Act, author Tuhin Sinha's take on events of national importance will provide you a peek.

A minor editing quibble: “Aditya thinks of me as his girlfriend. The mismatch makes us converse about everything under the sun, expect us.” Uh-oh.

Full report here Hindustan Times

Two PIO writers on FT book award list

Two Indian-origin writers figure in the long-list of 18 books for nominated for the Financial Times and Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award.

The award, which is in its sixth year, aims to identify the book providing the most compelling and enjoyable insight into modern business issues, including management, finance and economics.

The two books by Indian-origin writers are 'The Art of Choosing', by Sheena Iyengar published by Little, Brown, Twelve/Hachette Group and 'Fault Lines:How Hidden Fractures Still Threaten the World Economy', by Raghuram Rajan published by Princeton University Press.

A shortlist of six books determined by this year's judging panel will be announced on 16 September and the winner will be announced at Award Dinner in New York on 27 October.

The winning author will receive 30,000 pounds and other shortlisted authors will each receive 10,000, pounds an increase of 5,000 pounds over previous years.

Full report here Deccan Herald

Political love

She is a true diva. She came well beyond the appointed hour. Clad in a blue salwar kameez with a bandhni dupatta, lips dark and glossy and hair cascading down, Tollywood siren Rituparna Sengupta was all apology as she stepped inside. “I was shooting in Agarpara,” said the light-eyed actress.

Of Love and Politics, Tuhin A. Sinha’s latest offering published by Hachette, had its first nationwide launch in Calcutta on the 35th anniversary of Emergency on June 25, with Rituparna and novelist Rimi B. Chatterjee attending the Oxford Bookstore event.

Tuhin read out a small passage on the Emergency. “Though the Emergency does not figure in the novel there are fleeting references to it,” said Sinha.

Of Love and Politics is a novel on three GeNext Indian politicians belonging to rival political parties. So there is a BJP MP and a CPM girl who meet at a television studio and sparks fly.

“But by the next morning they are on a different equation altogether,” said the author. Chatterjee, a novelist, said: “The ending, I think, somehow runs out of steam and there are long conversations that could have been edited.”

Full report here

Tuhin Sinha's Of Love and Politics launched

Tuhin Sinha's latest book, Of Love and Politics, was launched in Delhi on July 2.

The novel, published by Hachette, is an unusual love triangle between three young Indian politicians.

The book was launched by BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad and noted CNN-IBN's Bhupendra Chaubey. This is yet another addition to the rapidly growing number of popular fiction titles by Indians this summer.

Blurb
I’m a political journalist by profession and an eternal romantic at heart. I’m sure that is a scandalous and a rare combination.

Unlike the US, where elections are essentially personality centric and every citizen has a right to decide the next leader, Indian elections tend to be extra-democratic, often putting the very institution at peril. The Indian political scenario is largely tri-polar. There is the Congress and its allies called the UPA on the one hand, the BJP and its allies called the NDA on the other. And then there is the Third Front comprising Left Parties and others who come and leave the front on their convenience. A tri-polar contest carries a huge probability of a hung parliament, which in turn results in some rather hasty and volatile re-alignments to form government. Some of these alignments can be outright opportunistic. And having closely studied them over the last several years, I am in a position to deduce that Indian political parties are promiscuous by nature.

The other interesting point that I have noted is that the political ideology or thought of an individual does tend to percolate down to the individual’s personal demeanor and beliefs too. At least, my friendship with a host of politicos cutting across ideological affinities and my comprehension of them bears testimony to such a phenomenon.

What happens then, when the political drama that unfolds in the country’s corridors of powers, spills over to a complicated personal bond that the protagonists – Aditya Samar Singh, Brajesh Ranjan and Chaitali Sen share?

Aditya like the Congress party he belongs to, tends to be aristocratic while he stands for rationalism and prudence; he is a centrist and he’s accommodating. Brajesh Ranjan, like his party, the BJP, swears by an overtly nationalist agenda; his personal dignity, as well as his idea of the nation’s self dignity tend to be so inflated that they sometimes border on egocentricity; he is hard on himself and others alike. Chaitali Sen, like the CPI(M) she represents, does have some revolutionary crusader traits and instincts. It goes without saying, she is leftist at heart and swears by the underpowered.

Humour in uniform

Sajita Nair's debut novel For She's A Jolly Good Fellow is an amusing take on the life of a woman officer in the Indian army While many women have made chiklits and mush their own space in the literary universe, Sajita Nair's debut novel, For She's a Jolly Good Fellow, marches into an area where no woman, at least in India, has been before – the male-dominated Indian army.

The book, which releases on July 3 in Kochi is a hilarious take on a woman's life in the army. Something that came easy to Sajita as she was one of the first woman officers to be commissioned in the Indian army. Like Sajita, the two protagonists – Deepa and Anju – are two young women who join the army and gingerly find their way around the highly regimented environs of the army. Now settled in Vizhag with her husband, Sajan Abraham, a naval officer, and two sons, Sajita's book is perhaps a first of its kind in India.

On the eve of the release of the book at Kochi, Sajita, in an e-mail, interview, talks about the book and its interesting background. Excerpts…

How much of it is autobiographical? How many years were you there in the army and where were you posted?
The book is partly autobiographical. I have drawn from many of my own experiences, but there are also those that are purely imagined and some that I have borrowed from my father's life in the Air Force, my husband's in the navy and from my friends who served in the army. I was a Short Service Commissioned officer and served for five years. Panagah in West Bengal was my first posting after the training period at the Officer's Training Academy. I was also posted in Ahmedabad.

Full interview here Hindu

Indian publishing needs to get less fun

In India it is editors who decide what readers get to read. Why is it that mediocrity becomes a goal in the attempt to bridge a non-existent divide between ‘literary’ and ‘commercial’ fiction?

In the world of Indian English publishing, kitsch has begun to dominate the mainstream. Penguin India publishes ‘Metro Reads', books that they call ‘fun, feisty, fast'; Random House India produces the ‘Kama Kahani', a series of Indianised Mills and Boons; Hachette India openly states that it cares most about commercial thrillers; and with its latest, highly-marketed release, Johnny Gone Down, HarperCollins India seems to be headed in the same direction. These are all books that openly disclaim any particular literary merit. They are projected instead as ‘fun' reads — with the implication that only a killjoy could possibly protest them.

A preliminary question
But before we get to that question — are these books fun for us? — there is an important preliminary question:why are they being offered to us? The easy answer is that the market is clamouring for them, just look at Chetan Bhagat. But this is too easy. It's been seven years since Bhagat's first book. Why would it take so long to follow his example? Moreover, the mainstay of Bhagat's readership has never been readers per se.It has been non-readers, those who are new to books, even new to the English language. This is certainly a massive group, and after Bhagat's success it has certainly been tapped — but by the smaller publishers, such as India Log and Shrishti Publications — not by the A-list. For them, Bhagat has simply been a fact of life — too dominant to ignore, too declasse to embrace. Which is one reason why their own ‘fun' releases take great pains to explain that they're well-written too, that they ‘bridge the divide' (a fashionable phrase) between the literary and the commercial.

Full report here Hindu

Publishers' meet in Delhi

A day-long round table by organised by the German Book Office (GBO) in Delhi saw a number of participants - including most of India's leading publishers and printers, engaged in rather spirited discussion over the future of publishing in India.
The usual divide between the multinational subsidiaries and independent publishers was a part of the story. The meet looked at whether publishing was local or global - and there was this realisation that while publishing had to be essentially local, the main tasks for publishers was to find the next big author who could transcend boundaries and languages.

Among the participants were Juergen Boos, President, Frankfurt Book Fair, who has been visiting India fairly frequently in recent times. Another interesting participant was an old India hand, Richard Charkin, executive director, Bloomsbury, in the past with Macmillan in India.

Among the Indian publishers present were Mike Bryan (Penguin), SK Ghai (Sterling), VK Karthika (Harper), Urvashi Butalia (Zubaan), Thomas Abraham (Hachette), Renuka Chatterjee from Westland, Pramod kapoor (Roli), PM Sukumar (Harper).