I might publish my own novel one day people! Atleast two novels that I read recently have protaganists whose lives have a striking resemblance to Someone-I-Know. I am referring to 'Namesake' and 'Inheritance of Loss'. They are both stories about Indians who've lived/live abroad when they were/are young. The similarites are so striking that I was like "Shit! Has SIK been talking a lot?! Or is this a mere coincidence?!" Growing up abroad, for some, may not exactly be a fairytale - especially if you stand out as an obvious foreigner.
Anyways, SIK's story starts with Namesake - his father is from a small village in India and his mother is a semi-literate simpleton. Since the father works as a clerk in the Indian embassy , are compelled to live in many foreign countries. SIK is born in one of these many foreign countries. Since the parents didnt know that a name has to be given to a newborn in the hospital itself, they fumbled and picked the first name that came to their mind. And guess what? Just like Gogol, he gets a total whako name! Stranger still, his name also has 5 letters and has the same consonant-vowel combo. He grows up with the same complex of bearing a weird name. Poor guy was constantly bullied at school (doesn't help if you are fat as well!) and grew up to become a young man like Judge Patel in the latter book. Their personalities match so much that it is weird! However, the good thing is while SIK didnt continue to live Judge Patel's life. And this is where my novel comes in! Can't let out the plot yet folks but I assure you that it's interesting. You would have to wait till I acquire the writing skills of randomrobin and the imaginative humor of silverine to read the rest of it!!
All the same, I'm gonna keep my eyes, ears, sympathies, empathies and all the other 'these' (he he, a weak pun!) open and watch people around me. I'll have plenty to write about!
Talking of English novels by Indian writers, I also read 'Mistress' by Anita Nair. It puzzles me to know why the novel wasn't a big hit! It's as good a read as 'God of Small Things' and talks more of Kerala and TamilNadu than the latter ever aspired to do. Perhaps she needs a better publisher - someone like Hamish Hamilton perhaps, a-la Zadie Smith. I'd recommend this novel to everyone and hope it eventually becomes a super-hit. Better late than never, right?
Read Chetan Bhagat's latest too - '3 mistakes of my life'. Was reading the book while on a train to Finland. I kept getting these looks from my fellow passengers after they saw the title of the book. "Fiction" I told this young girl who kept staring at me and the book. Good read.
Though I hate the ugly, dirty, old man Khushwant Singh for making racist remarks against Kamala Das, I decided to pick up his book, Train to Pakistan, just to see what the fuss is all about. Maybe it's just a load of bull like the rest of his novels are famed to be, so let's see.
Right now, I'm reading a rather interesting book called 'Death of Vishnu'. Here's an interesting quote from the book on religion, "Religion existed to control society, to monitor those without the capacity to think things through for themselves...so that the urges of the masses could be calmed and regulated." And this is just one tiny bit out of the many insights. Interesting story telling.
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