From a certain point of view: Confirmation bias, narrative, and reader reception in the Gujarat Files
Rana Ayyub seems truly interested in discovering the truth of what happened during the 2002 Gujarat riots and in the encounters that followed. But the question remains: whose truth are we talking about here? That’s where Ayyub’s confirmation bias comes in.
Reader reflections on control in Han Kang’s The Vegetarian
The Vegetarian isn’t really about a vegetarian or vegetarianism. This book is about control. Control of our bodies, our minds, our sexual desires, our identities, even our very existence.
4 writers, 4 stories, 4 steps on my writing journey
As I watched the Write India video the other day, I teared up and realized I wanted to tell the stories of my stories, the lessons I learned, and express my gratitude for the Write India program.
The mysterious case of the commercial literary fiction writer
But, what is literary fiction? Even experienced writers often have difficulty defining this genre. It’s like porn. You know it when you see it, but ask someone to define it, and they either can’t or won’t.
Review: Defiant Dreams
Editor’s note Although I have never met them, I know several of the contributors to this volume, mostly through the online Facebook group For Writers, By Authors. I was a beta reader of Radhika Maira Tabrez’s short story in this volume, Built From the Ashes. Anirban Nanda has beta read for me. When Rhiti Bose […]
I am a Chetan Bhagat fan, and I am not an idiot: A 2001-word editorial odyssey
Recently, I was involved in a discussion in a writer’s group about Chetan Bhagat. Unlike most similar discussions, this one did not degenerate into the vitriol that usually happens when Chetan Bhagat is mentioned. In part, because the discussion was not limited to Bhagat himself, but included Amish Tripathi, Durjoy Datta, Ravi Subramanian, and other bestsellers. […]
Blogiversary
Facebook has just reminded me that I started this blog one year ago today. Yah! That’s something to celebrate.
The hashtag
When the #DeadAdityaKapoor hashtag goes viral, Maya Kapoor races toward Lilavati Hospital–and her husband. But, a monsoon downpour threatens to stop her. Will she reach in time to say goodbye to Aditya?
Inspired by Ravi Subramanian’s Write India passage, The Hashtag wrestles with the real emotional toll of virtual rumors.
A dead letter to the son of a Syrian immigrant
Dear Steve,
I know you’re dead and all that, but there’s something you need to hear. Something I need to tell you.
It seems some people in America no longer want you. They think people like you will destroy our country. They think that hard-working immigrants who want a chance to live in peace don’t deserve that chance. They think that Syrians will bring terrorists with them. They think it’s OK for a three-year-old boy to drown on the shores of a country that isn’t theirs.
Book review: The Bestseller She Wrote
What happens when Ravi Subramanian, India’s bestselling author of banking thrillers, decides to write a romance novel set in the “glitzy world of bestsellers”? What insights would he give about becoming a best-selling author? Would switching genres work? Who’s the real Aditya Kapoor?
Find out all this and more in this review of The Bestseller She Wrote by Ravi Subramanian.