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Anne Enright wins Man Booker Prize
Irish writer Anne Enright has won the Man Booker fiction prize for The Gathering, an uncompromising portrait of a troubled family that its author called the literary equivalent of a Hollywood weepie.
Enright had been considered a long-shot to take Britain's most prestigious, and contentious, literary trophy. The prize, which carries a check for USD 100,000 was awarded during a ceremony at London's medieval Guildhall yesterday.
She is the second Irish writer to win the prize in the past three years, after John Banville's The Sea in 2005.
The Gathering is a family epic set in England and Ireland, in which a brother's suicide prompts 39-year-old Veronica Hegarty to probe her family's troubled, tangled history.
Enright said people looking for a cheery read should not pick up her book.
"It is the intellectual equivalent of a Hollywood weepie," she said.
Howard Davies, the chairman of the judging panel, acknowledged the book was "a little bleak" in places, but praised it as "a very readable novel."
"Anne Enright has written a powerful, uncomfortable and, at times, angry book. 'The Gathering' is an unflinching look at a grieving family in tough and striking language," he said.
Enright said the book's focus on family was a classically Irish theme.
The Solitude of Emperors releases
The release of David Davidar's second novel, The Solitude of Emperors was highly anticipated following the success of his debut novel the House of Blue Mangoes.
Based on the '93 Mumbai blasts, The Solitude of Emperors explores how one man balances his love for his country and his battle against religious fundamentalism, a topic that concerns Davidar.
"Each of us should do whatever we can to say stop the misuse of religion and this is hopefully my way of making some contribution to the discourse," he said.
Davidar became one of the youngest publishers in the world, when he set up Penguin India 20 years ago at the age of 26. He then proved to be a talented writer when the House of Blue Mangoes was published in 2002.
The book has been translated into sixteen languages and has been compared to Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children.
The House of Blue Mangoes earned Davidar the reputation of being one of India's most compelling writers, who can project truth without bias. It also earned him many fans who are anxious to read his latest work.
"Clearly he is a very good writer, the story seems to be quite exciting so I am looking forward to reading it," said Lord Meghnad Desai, Economist and writer.
Second novels often fail to live up to the promise of their predecessors, but when the author is a writer of David Davidar's calibre, we have higher expectations. Let's hope his knack for projecting the truth in a sharp linguistic style makes The Solitude of Emperors an interesting, worthwhile read.(Posted on September 11, 2007)
Delhi book fair loses focus
The 13th Annual Book Fair opened this weekend in Delhi and while it has attracted huge crowds, its focus is no more the serious reader.
While it's still an event for families and those who want to spend a day amidst books, the discerning readers find themselves wondering what's there for them in the fair.
There are over 200 stalls and as many publishing houses. Still there is no more variety on offer than what one finds in any upmarket bookstore in the city.
Since this is the 13th Delhi book fair, serious readers are saying "it's very predictable fare, nothing you don't get at a bookshop."
No great book launches take place and no popular authors sign away books. In fact, even the publishing industry says its focus is not the serious reader.
"This is an opportunity to network and attract buyers from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to buy books for their countries. We are not looking at the serious reader," said Sudhir Malhotra, Director, Orient Paperbacks.
"Yes there can be more funds made available," said Shakti Malik, Federation of Indian Publishers.
The big draws are still Rupa, Orient, OUP, Scholastics for kids and a small selection of comic books.
So the organisers have clubbed the book fair with stationery and home appliances to draw in larger crowds.
"I've come here to buy books that concern my area - biology and botany," said a visitor.
The aim of the South Asian publishers - the Abu Dhabi and China stalls - is trade and not really the reader in the first place.
Delhi also hosts the international book fair every alternate year which is still a huge draw for the serious reader.
So the organisers say the Delhi Book Fair is meant to be for Indian publishers but many smaller publishers find it unaffordable to have separate stalls here.
Buried in a maze of textbooks are a few titles like alternate sexuality but then these aren't something you can't get at a bookshop and that's precisely the point the serious reader is now making at the Delhi Book Fair. (Posted on September 4, 2007)
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