Tuesday, August 26, 2008

10 reasons why you should read Arundhati Roy

Arundhati Roy is one single writer who has never disappointed me, and who always gives value for my time. I can read her any time any day. Give me a new Arundhati piece, and I'm into it in an instant, reading and savouring it word for word - literally. She is a window for me. She is my idea of a real writer.

So, what's it that draws me in? Or, why should you read her?

1. She has poetry in her prose. Or, music. If you love literature, you can't miss it.

2. She writes about sensitive, yet important subjects that other writers would carefully avoid for reasons of libel and/or personal security( e.g. globalisation, judiciary, dams, nuclear tests).

3. She has more brains for a writer, and is endowed with a sharp analytical mind.

4. She is a one-woman army and can take on the establishment without considering about the consequences.

5. She has astounding skill to garner facts and figures about India (the emerging superpower to some)and the world.

6. She is a rare independent writer with integrity, who is never afraid of asking questions.

7. She has great imagination to enrich her work.

8. She writes less, and never ever any crap - whether fiction or non-fiction.

9. She did not blush when people were clapping on her Booker award occasion.

10. She has no blog or any account on Facebook or You Tube.

Now, read Arundhati Roy's New Article at Outlook India magazine.

3 comments:

Brad Green said...

I certainly agree with your point number 1. Dry prose without tangential lilts is droll. Though you probably mean something a bit different, I've heard of great resistance, for example, to the poetic metaphor in prose. It's distracting, those detractors exclaim, it's too fuzzy around the edge to take it's place in our ranks. Perhaps that type of prose contributes to the STORY, but it does so by evoking mood and sense. Important vehicles, if you ask me, but many of the writers that I've met at online groups and such would disagree. They want it straight-away and fast, like a cup of bleach tossed in your face.

At any rate, you've a nice list here. As much as I agree with the first point, I'll withhold a clap for the last. The world changes to a degree. So should authors. Blogs are a mechanism of communication. I see nothing wrong with them.

You have one. I have one as well: Elevate the Ordinary

Nice post. I'm subscribing.

Mrinal Bose said...

Brad, you're right: most writers today like straight-away prose. But the real writers are wordsmiths, and they have their honed, individual and private language. They stand out for their style.

Thanks for subscribing.

Two Dishes said...

A sort of mental political palatte cleanser, ala Noam Chomsky and Howard Zinn .

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