In Conversation
Simple ambitions
TISHANI DOSHI
|
Alexander McCall Smith talks about how the success of his novels has turned his life upside down.
|
Photo: Graham Clark
Serial novelist: Writing that seeks to connect.
When he was eight-years-old, Alexander McCall Smith sent his first manuscript off for publication and called it, very dramatically, "He's gone". Now, at 56, and over 50 published books later, he's the kind of author publishers dream of: prolific, funny, and hugely successful.
Prior to becoming a fulltime author, McCall Smith was a professor of Medical Law in Edinburgh, an international authority on genetics, and an advisor to UNESCO and the British government on bioethics. But, since the introduction of the delightful Mma Precious Ramotswe to the world in 1998, and the success of the No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency, he's had to give up his various public offices and commitments and concern himself solely with books and writing.
By his own estimation, McCall Smith suffers from a condition called serial novelism. "There's no cure for this... You just write them and die," he says with his trademark cackle. In his new series, The Sunday Philosophy Club, the equally endearing Isabel Dalhousie will come to Kerala and get entangled in all sorts of events in the Western Ghats. McCall Smith is going to call it Proper Pepper.
How did you come to writing at such a late stage in life?
Well, I suppose I've always been writing. I was writing for many years in my spare time and then later on, it came to occupy more of my time, but I always knew I wanted to write. I think most writers, when you ask them that question, will say it's something they knew. I had no idea when I wrote No. 1 that it would be the success that it proved to be, and when the books really started to take off and sell in the millions — I suppose that's the point at which I thought I could commit myself to writing and just do that.
How do different landscapes speak to you as a writer?
I think many writers are very attentive to place and landscape, and my books have a very strong sense of place. Botswana is present as a country in my books in a very important way. When I write about Botswana and when I write about Scotland — for each of these, a strong sense of place registers in the books.
But I don't think there's a great deal of difference. They are different landscapes and different cultures, but I think that one really just writes... . Put it this way, I'm the kind of writer who's prepared to write about different places as opposed to writers who'll write about one place. Narayan is a good example because he had a very strong sense of place; but I'm not the same, I'm prepared to write about different places.
What is it particularly about Africa that appeals to you?
Well, I think it's very beautiful .The landscape is very powerful and I suppose I just respond to that. It's my response to that landscape, to that community, to the people. I spent my childhood in Zimbabwe, which is next door, so it's obviously resonating with me.
Are there recurring themes in your work?
I'm interested in friendship; in issues such as forgiveness and loyalty. I'm interested in values and virtues and exploring how we can live our lives in the light of those. That probably comes back in the Botswana series and the Sunday Philosophy Club and so on. When I write, I go into a trance. I don't think about what's going to happen. It just comes. I think that writing fiction comes from the subconscious mind. The mind is asking all these questions about the world and what not... .My books in a sense are about people. I'm more interested in character and in the small things in people's lives, in their ordinary day-to-day lives which might involve interesting questions — moral questions like how we are supposed to live etc... But I'm not a political writer, I don't really go into political issues. I think it's quite important as an outsider when you write about a country — you have to have a certain distance and detachment. I don't get involved in internal differences and African politics.
Do you feel that these themes are explored more in the Botswana series?
I think you have to be careful not to romanticise places such as Botswana. There are values — and every society has them obviously, but one thing I do find in Botswana and indeed, in many other sub-Saharan African countries, is that these virtues and human values are particularly evident because the people there have a sincerity and lack of cynicism which I don't find in other countries where people are so busy and have no time for one another. And that's why people have been quite refreshed by the Botswana novels — they want to believe that there are places where people treat one another with respect and give one another time. While the world is so rushed and busy, Mma Ramotswe has time to drink tea and talk...
You mentioned the William books and Enid Blyton earlier... Are you aware that these books are still widely read in India?
I'm very interested to hear that. One of the reasons I enjoy reading Indian poets is the beautiful English that is used. English is still used in a beautiful, elegant way, whereas in this country it's been debased. In most countries it's been debased; but I think Indian English has got this gorgeous dignity still, and the rhythms of the language and the correctness, the structure is still there. And if you consider the Indian writers writing in English — I mean they're keeping the great tradition of the novel alive. So many writers in this country are just working for effect and impressions as opposed to good, solid narrative.
If you had to describe your work to an Indian audience, how would you describe it?
I don't know if I'd be comfortable talking about my work. I suppose I might say quirky. It's a bit quirky, a bit humorous. Ultimately, I want to make readers feel better and more hopeful. I don't like depressing literature. Going back to the Narayan novels — you really feel sympathy for the people involved. It's a very simple ambition, nothing very grand...
Do you miss your various previous professional avatars?
Yes, I suppose I do miss some aspects of it. But it's a very great privilege in this life to be able to conduct the conversations that we do through books with many millions of people around the world — and a great pleasure, and I enjoy that.
How has literary success changed your life?
Well, it's turned it upside down. I've lost control of my time. It's all very different. It's not going to change me in essentials — I'd hope I'm exactly as I was before. I can't really change my lifestyle at this point — my friends would just laugh (cackles). I couldn't start driving a grand sports car or something — too late (cackles again). There's nothing really that I need. I bought myself a nice pair of shoes recently though — that was nice. That's my indulgence!
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Literary Review
