Recently I have made it a habit to read at least
thirty pages a day. When I discharge the
custom regularly I was amazed to observe I was able to go well beyond thirty
pages. These days I mutter a silent prayer for this habit to continue for the
rest of my life.
Contrary to my earlier practice, I read novels
exclusively these days. A few months back spiritual scriptures and Advita
philosophy occupied my time. Since my passion is creative/fiction writing, I
tend to read a few contemporary Tamil novels. I attempted to read some novels
online but could not continue the exercise. Besides being straining for the
eyes, lack of will to continue reading online prevented me from making that
into a habit.
Hence my prevalent choice is the printed version. I
am trapped among three novels at the moment, with the fourth waiting in the
wings. The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett, Clive Avenue by T.S.Trimurthy
and a Tamil novel named oru kadalora kiraamaththin kathai written by Thoppil
Mohamed Meeran. The fourth, which I open to read in a few days time, is
Qurr-Atul-In- Hyder’s River of Fire, An Urdu novel Trans created by the author
herself.
In the past weeks I have completed reading Arvind
Adiga’s white Tiger, an award winning novel, The Concept of Novel (Tamil) by Jeyamohan,
Nakulan’s Ninaivuppaathai (Tamil) and again Jayamohan’s Modern Tamil Literature
– an introduction (Tamil).
Jayamohan’s two books speak exclusively on the importance
of having a clear understanding literature form and the execution of it. I went
through the books at a faster pace which prevent me from discussing them in
detail. I intend to share my thoughts primarily about the novels I have read.
I have to be honest and say that I didn’t like Adiga’s
White Tiger in spite of its speedy plot and the riveting scenes. The hype it
created by winning Man Booker prize, did not stop me from me deciding it as an average
book. The story is narrated by a car driver in the first person. He works for a
business man and comes to kill his boss. In an effort to explain why he was
pushed into a situation of becoming a murderer, he portrays the contemporary
social process. India happens to be a land of opportunities and a potential place
for infinitive exploitability. People who have the guts and the wits can not
only survive but also thrive in this environment. I can say this novel presents
Adiga’s satirical point of view of the Indian corporate arena with fascinating episodes
but fails to establish itself as a literary creation. Any popular fiction
writer could have written this novel with ease. What it lacks is the spontaneity
and the vision.
