TL;DR - Jeet Thayil would like 'Indians' to not read his book

[deepad]

Why do you think the Indian reaction to your book was so bad?

Indian reviewers don’t read books. They have two days to produce 800 words. They read the prologue and then skim a few pages, then they read all the other reviews. If the first two are negative, you can be sure they will all be negative. If the first two are good, the rest will be good. It’s that low-level, that pathetic. It takes a kind of confidence for a reviewer to have their own opinion about a book. And a lot of people here just don’t care about literary novels.

What do you mean by “literary”?

I mean the kind of novel that you have to bring something to: a novel that you have to put a little work into reading; a novel that doesn’t give up its secrets and its meanings straight away; a novel that maybe needs two readings. All readers are not equal. A lot of people are not moved, and those readers shouldn’t read certain books, which may sound like an arrogant thing to say, but I mean, f––– off, don’t read my book! Don’t quote that.

OK.

Actually, who cares? Say it.

But your reception at home in the UK was very warm.

I got the feeling that western critics had actually read the book, which at that point was a hugely emotional thing for me.

-- From this interview

supriyan, ActuallyAisha and sridala, please apply for your phoren passports now, since clearly you are unindian reviewers.

Comments

[delfinnium]

wut.

for real?

maybe he doesn't realise that his book may not be popular with indian readers because he isn't writing FOR them?

[deepad]

Oh, there is an enormous debate about writing for Indians vs. for white audiences, and no book is entirely one or the other, but in this case, I suspect, from the excerpts of it I have heard, the book is at least not to this particular Indian's taste.

[delfinnium]

I wish we didn't have to have a debate on whether we are writing for a white audience or not. Because the WHITE writers can just write for their own audience and blithely ignore the rest of the world like it doesn't exist, and we have to be always aware that the white audience and white society is all up there over our shoulders looking over and judging whether we write 'coloured' enough, 'foreign' enough.

[deepad]

Yeah. Though I will note that its only writers writing in English that have that issue. There is plenty of stuff being written in Indian languages that is clearly unconcerned with its sellability to a foreign reader. I suspect the same is true of other languages with a strong printed writing presence, like Korean, Japanese, Chinese etc.

[lilacsigil]

I think that's the same criticism levelled at every critical arena ever! I've heard it of the Melbourne reviewers, Australian reviewers, expatriate English-speaking reviewers in Japan and bloggers as a whole. Poor huffy author.

[deepad]

Although I have to say I have not heard writers talk about the plebes in the UK or US who fail to grasp the brilliance of their book, while praising the cultured, clued-in readers of India.

[lilacsigil]

A very good point!

[coffeeandink]

It takes devotion to become an addict to opium and heroin. You have to keep doing it to get through it.

Uh. Sure.

[deepad]

Clearly drugs and reading his book require the same levels of dedication to the cause.

[phi]

Um, what?

[deepad]

Jeet Thayil, Booker long-list nominee!

[phi]

Is it wrong of me that I think the booker prize is just totally overrated? Or is that me being a "bad reader"?

[deepad]

Since I hate the whole 'bad reader' snobbery I can't say, but I have thought some of the Booker awardees to be deserving but a number to be not to my taste at all.

[swingandswirl]

Well, I'm sure Mr. Thayil will be pleased to know that this Indian has absolutely /zero/ plans of reading his book. But what do I know, I'm not white western.

/shakes head/ What is this I don't even.

[deepad]

It's kind of cute he's so open about his snobbery, no?

[swingandswirl]

Seriously. Although I've generally found, sadly, that some of the most overt racist folk aren't near white. (See also every fairness cream ad ever, but that's a rant for another day...)

[noldo]

In my clearly unimpeachable opinion, we Indians who don't read books are missing absolutely nothing in this instance. A work of self-satisfied sound-&-fury-signifying nothing. Also, every single book that claims to be a new, unique, dazzling, ravishing portrait of the ineffable mysteries of Bombay (or what have you) generally is nothing new at all.

[deepad]

Well, clearly most of us Indians are too lazy and stupid to put in the hard work required to get properly appreciate hard drugs and lit that loves them.