January 25, 2005
"Authentic" Fiction
Nilanjana Roy's latest column for the Business Standard is about that word that strikes fear in any expat author, or any author writing about the immigrant experience: authenticity. More specifically, Roy looks at Indian fiction that is written from within and without the continent and the resulting question that seems to be on readers' minds.
The problem lies elsewhere, with the books about India and by writers of Indian origin that come to us on an ocean of advance publicity, gilt-edged, flagged for our consideration, endorsed by the Western world, stamped with the approval of publishing houses we should be able to trust, foreign editors whose names are legendary, authors who are living shrines.And, she concludes (rightly, I think) that the only question that should be asked is: Are the books any good?
For far too long, the debate over the merits of "phoren" versus "desi" books has been hijacked by an obsession with authenticity. Is Monica Ali's Brick Lane the Real Thing, or a simulacra? Are Rupa Bajwa's shop assistants true to life? How much of Bengali culture can an NRI like Jhumpa Lahiri truly understand? Has Naipaul really understood the neo-revolutionaries with whom he explored India's villages? Is Manil Suri's Vishnu authentic, is Siddharth Dhanvant Shanghvi's sense of history authentic, is Samina Ali's Hyderabad authentic, is Vikas Swarup's beggar-turned-quiz contestant authentic?
The only possible answers to these questions are the ones that writers give when pressed: a writer is free to imagine his or her version of reality.What is the authentic India anyway-the city, the village, the slums, the farmhouses? And what part of the phrase "work of fiction" do you not understand?
posted by Laila Lalami at 12:00 AM
About
bio articles news contact rssMy Events
04.26: LA Times Festival of Books04.30: Claremont, California
09.23-10.04: International Literature Festival Berlin
Search
My book
In hardcover
In Morocco
In Italian
In Portuguese
In french
In dutch
In spanish
Monthly Archives
April 2008March 2008
February 2008
January 2008
December 2007
November 2007
October 2007
September 2007
August 2007
July 2007
June 2007
May 2007
April 2007
March 2007
February 2007
January 2007
December 2006
November 2006
October 2006
September 2006
August 2006
July 2006
June 2006
May 2006
April 2006
March 2006
February 2006
January 2006
December 2005
November 2005
October 2005
September 2005
August 2005
July 2005
June 2005
May 2005
April 2005
March 2005
February 2005
January 2005
December 2004
November 2004
October 2004
September 2004
August 2004
July 2004
June 2004
May 2004
April 2004
March 2004
February 2004
January 2004
December 2003
November 2003
October 2003
September 2003
August 2003
July 2003
June 2003
May 2003
April 2003
March 2003
February 2003
January 2003
December 2002
November 2002
October 2002
September 2002
August 2002
July 2002
June 2002
May 2002
April 2002
March 2002
February 2002
January 2002
December 2001
November 2001
October 2001