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No publisher’s block
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David Davidar talks of how he forgets his day job as a publisher when he writes and about his latest book ‘The Solitude of Emperors’
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BURNING ISSUE David Davidar: ‘Fundamentalism is the curse of our times, indeed the curse of all times’
David Davidar described himself as “three parts publisher and one part writer” after the release of his first book, ‘The House of Blue Mangoes’. No wonder, considering that he is nothing short of a star in the publishing indus
try. He was, after all, the man who took Penguin India from being a six-title publication in 1987 to one that boasts of titles by the biggest names in Indo-Anglian writing. He moved to Toronto to head Penguin Canada in 2004.
His demanding job as the publisher, however, has not dampened his enthusiasm for writing.
Davidar has just released his second novel, ‘The Solitude of Emperors’, which speaks about misuse and misinterpretation of religion with the Bombay riots as backdrop.
He calls himself a “bit of a masochist” who finds it hard to write, and yet doesn’t give up. He is already thinking of a third novel set in the times of Carnatic wars in South Indian history.
Davidar, who was on a whirlwind launch tour of India, seemed a bit tired of speaking about his novels and publishing career in interview after interview. “Can we please talk about Roger Federer instead?” he pleaded, but reluctantly settled down to speak about the book business.
Excerpts from the interview:
Do you manage to banish the sane and practical voice of the publisher when you write?
Not too many publishers write. When you are a publisher you know how risky it is. You put in years of effort and then the reviews and sales aren’t great. I write because I feel I have a story to tell. It helps that I compartmentalise. I don’t think of publishing when I write and vice versa. If you think of the market while writing you get paralysed.
Would you say a good publisher is one who knows how to preserve his literary judgement even as he measures the market pulse?
I know people who have exquisite taste, but no sense of business, and vice versa. You need a combination of both… In India we now have excellent publishers and writers, but the market is not yet as big as it could be. There needs to be major investment in book stores and distribution channels. When that happens, India will be, I suspect, the third biggest market for English language books after the U.S. and U.S.
Publishing is criticized for banking more on hype than quality.
I think hype is absolutely essential to bring a book to people’s attention. However, in 22 years of publishing, I have not found a solitary example of hype that has sold a bad book. Also, many times we don’t get our literary references right, which is why Shoba De gets a lot of criticism. You have literary reviewers saying her books are crap. They are meant to be what they are. My definition of a bad book is one that does not achieve what it sets out to achieve.
Some criticisms are totally nonsensical when you break them down.
‘The Solitude of Emperors’ is about religious fundamentalism…
I really feel strongly about it. It is the curse of our times, indeed the curse of all times. India, being the oldest multi-religious society, there has always been strife.
Your keenness to present an argument seems to be at the cost of narrative flow and characterisation. There is a book within the book that talks about Ashoka, Akbar and Gandhi. There are long conversations on faith and secularism.
Without the excerpts about the emperors it would have been a different book altogether.
It is a novel of ideas. But I didn’t want to write non-fiction. I needed to have the elements of fiction to give it a different approach to something we all know about.
Do you feel that people’s judgement of your literary work is influenced by your overwhelming image as a publishing ‘hero’?
This has certainly occurred to me. There was an article in a newspaper which was an extended rant against me. It said I was totally without talent and that people are saying I am a great writer because they are concerned about their own future. But hopefully there are people who don’t care and write what they think right.
One review said ‘David Davidar has one godfather, which is himself’ and went on to speak about my publishing career without saying anything about the book! This is lodged in people’s heads, but it is their problem and not mine.
So who is your most honest reader?
My wife Rachna is my first reader. I think she is getting a little fed up after two books. She has told me that I should hire someone for the next one, as long as it is not someone blue-eyed and blonde!
I also have a circle of friends who read before it goes to the editor… I am fortunate to have friends who tell me honestly what they think of my work.
BAGESHREE . S
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