C: A Novel - Author Anupama Raju in Conversation.
The very first thing about the book that hooks the attention of the reader is of course the title C. It intrigues. It makes one wonder, may I ask what sparked the idea behind the book being eponymously, named after the city, referred to in its pages as C?
Anupama Raju
@anu123 · 1:34
In fact, if you look at it, there are many cities around the world which start with the letter C. So I didn't want to give it any particular name and limit it to one particular city or location. I wanted the reader's imagination to take flight. And whoever is reading, I wanted them to imagine Ce as any city. It could be their own city, it could be anywhere in the world. Right? And that is the reason I called it C in the first place
Very, very interesting anupama. Thank you so much for sharing that a question around your literary style. I was immediately drawn to the book's premise, of course, yet more than the plot, your sentences riveted me. They were quite poignant, mixing unexpected observations about humanity with gorgeous, often tender descriptions of nature. Ah, painting wonderful visual images in prose and poetry. So my question here is, was it a conscious decision to blur the lines of genre and experiment with style and structure?
Anupama Raju
@anu123 · 1:15
The book is written in prose and poetry. There are lots of things I feel prose cannot convey, and that is conveyed using poetry. So that could be the the reason you find some of the images evocative or tender or visual. That is definitely something very characteristic of poetry. And as someone who's been practicing poetry for so many years, I think it's only natural that it influences the way I write prose as well
Thank you. Anupama. My next question is more focused around the publishing journey of your book. When you're trying to pitch a novel, the conventional emphasis from publishers is on the plot, the hook, the pacing, etc. even for literary works,..Your novel has successfully dispensed with much of the traditional idea and expectations from a typical novel. Was that a conscious decision as you were writing?
Anupama Raju
@anu123 · 1:19
Yes, you're right. A novel pretty much depends on the plot and how riveting the developments in the plot are. And in that sense, C is very, very unconventional. I have my publishers to thank for that. I'm very glad that Aleph book company and the editors had complete faith in my manuscript and they demanded absolutely nothing from it except for some changes which I think only made the book better
Anupama Raju
@anu123 · 2:01
So it wasn't easy, but I think it's very important. Just as you would write about any illness, right? We should not hesitate to talk about mental illness or any illness because our characters are as human as us, so why should we tiptoe around it?
Ah, thank you so much for sharing that. Anupama, I think I will leave you with one final question. How does your process for translating literature compare to your process for writing your own prose? Has your translating experience changed or influenced the way you write? Also, I'm sure you read a lot of translated work. Do you find that you read differently being a translator yourself?
Swell Team
@Swell · 0:15
Anupama Raju
@anu123 · 1:57
You. I think as translator, one is always conscious of the fact that I'm dealing with another writer's work. So I am extremely careful about every step I take, every word I write, every every sentence I choose, because I need to do justice to another writer's imagination me. So it's a very precious and solemn process. I'm very, very careful about it
Thank you so much for this wonderful conversation around the book, Anupama. I can't tell you how much I've appreciated your insightful responses here. I'd love to have you back on for more conversations around your writing ANU your work and for our listeners. I'm going to be sharing the Amazon link to the book that I'd highly recommend in for everyone to check out. Thank you Anupama, and mobile to your words
