Indian Authors: Continued

When you think Pulitzer, you think Jhumpa Lahiri. Her debut novel, Interpreter of Maladies, a collection of short stories, won her instant fame and recognition—not to mention fans worldwide. Her portrayal of Bengali NRIs and their lifestyles in US was not only novel but also simple and realistic. The book was worth a raed but her second novel, The Namesake, only proved that Ms. Lahiri was trying to use the same tested-and-true formula yet again but in a novel form this time was a huge letdown to her fans. Another book on Bengali NRIs and she would have emigrated to Obliville.

Next in tow is Vikram Seth who is an acclaimed author who has won several literary awards. He’s famous for writing travelogues and autobiographical novels—not to mention thick fat books that one can expect only to finish in a span of 4 months. His latest book, Two Lives, won him the Crossword Prize for Non-Fiction. Incidentally, this was the first book I read of his and I did not find it any big shakes. It beats me why someone would want to pen a memoir of a less-famous uncle who worked as a dentist and married a Jew and dies bequeathing very little to Vikram Seth. (It beats me more why a reader like me should waste time reading such crap.) Methinks the only reason for Seth to have endeavored penning this memoir was to influence his non-fecund uncle to leave him as the sole beneficiary. The love for his uncle turns into resentment overnight after the contents of the will are made known. This fact compounded with the fact that the book is nearly 700 pages makes you resent him.

One other writer who is famous is Kiran Nagarkar. Some of his books include Cuckold, Ravan and Eddie, and Seven Sixes are Forty-Three (Saat Sakkam Trechalis). His latest book, Gods Little Soldier, was launched by Aamir Khan but that did not ensure the book’s success. I attempted reading Ravan and Eddy and shut the book after 20 pages. Somehow he came across as a pretentious author who was desperately trying to find a place among the Indian-English authors. Perhaps he should stick to writing in Marathi.

Other Indian female writers who I have read include Shobaa De, Anita Nair, Shinie Anthony (who edited Chetan Bhagat’s novels and debuted with Kardamom Kisses) who write sleaze passing it off as literature.