An Interview with Lisa Napoli – Radio Shangri-La!!

So after reading Radio Shangri-La, and reviewing it, I found the perfect opportunity to ask Ms. Napoli the questions I wanted to about the book. I wanted to know more about her and the process of writing this wonderful book. So here goes the interview:

Why write about Bhutan? What led you to it?

I knew next to nothing about Bhutan when I met a handsome man at a party who got me invited there to help with a new youth-oriented radio station. I was a radio journalist at the time and I had no intentions of writing a book. I just wanted to get off my daily treadmill…but nine months after I returned, I realized going there had changed my outlook on life, and that in mid-life, everyone gets to that point where they feel trapped, regardless their circumstances.

Your thoughts on life – The one thing that it takes to live it.

Be kind. (Be open, too, to new things, but in way these two things are very much tied together.)

What do you think of Bhutan as a country basis your experience? What did you think of it before visiting and writing this book?

I knew it didn’t have TV until ten years ago, and I knew the people were very religious (Buddhist.) Those were very appealing to me, as I see television as a very problematic force (for all the good it has offered, it’s like candy–you can’t exist on a steady diet of it.) And I was feeling a serious lack of spirituality in my life.

American vs. Bhutanese culture

In the end, everyone wants love, clean water and food, and good shelter. Beyond that, the trappings and how they manifest are variant.

The favourite and least favourite part of Bhutan according to you

The landscape is my favorite, followed a close second by the mythology. The least: the issues with Nepali citizens forced out of the country.

How difficult was it for you to adjust to Bhutanese Cuisine? You did mention that most dishes were too hot to be tried.

Super-hot spice is a big essential part of the Bhutanese diet. I’m a leafy green, fresh vegetable sort of person and that wasn’t a typical part of the diet. But having my own kitchen helped.

Your literary influences

I love the complete works of Sinclair Lewis, an American author not as widely read any more as I feel he should be. While I was writing Radio Shangri-La, I slept for a while with Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt under my pillow. I thought if I could write something even a fraction as good as that, I’d be happy.

Lisa the writer…

I love being holed up in a room for days and hours, thinking and writing. And then walking or swimming and thinking some more about it. I don’t believe there’s a thing called writer’s block–you just sometimes need to go for a walk. Or take a protracted break.

Lisa the reader (her favourite writers and books)

See above. I also love the southern US writers, Flannery O’Connor, James Agee, Eudora Welty. Truman Capote, too. And Donna Tartt’s A Secret History has to be still one of the most fantastically terrifying books I’ve ever read. Finally, Erica Jong’s Fear of Flying is, to me, a masterpiece.

Then there’s ee cummings and Roald Dahl and, and….

Has Lisa the person changed after Bhutan? If yes, then how?

I’m not sure if changed is right as much as evolved. I hope I’m more empathetic, and I’m definitely more giving. The only reason I’d like to make a lot of money is to have a lot to give away. I’m also definitely far more religious. And thankfully, I’m no longer stuck in that treadmill of a job.

Finally, what next after Radio Shangri-La?

I’m working with some friends to help build a library in Bhutan by raising money through READGlobal.org And I’m working on two books, one about the parties I have every Friday night at my apartment, and the other the memoirs of an American-born Buddhist monk I study with in Los Angeles.

And here is where you can know more about the book and about Lisa:

On her website: http://www.lisanapoli.com

To read an excerpt from the book, please go here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/47547372/Radio-Shangri-La-by-Lisa-Napoli-Excerpt

You can also see her speak about the book here:

Book Review: Lazy Thoughts of a Lazy Girl by Jenny Wren

Title: Lazy Thoughts of a Lazy Girl
Author: Jenny Wren
Publisher: Hesperus Classics
ISBN: 978-1843911685
Genre: Classics, Non-Fiction
PP: 120 pages
Price: £7.99
Source: Publisher
Rating: 4/5

Consider: Women in Victorian England. Year: Pick any year of Victorian England, but do consider the conditions of women in that era and time. Any idea of what they must have experienced and gone through? No, right? I thought as much. At that time, in the year 1891, Jenny Wren’s book Lazy Thoughts of a Lazy Girl was published. It is a meditation of almost everything from a woman’s perspective – love, dogs, and social classes, to teas and to bills and to life.

For me most of these issues are relevant even today – in so-called modern times. This collection of 12 essays, present’s the woman – the way she thinks and what she thinks about. The thoughts are funny most of the time and I loved reading the essays. For instance, she wants to “injure the man who invented it” – It being the game of Tennis. And another one, when she doesn’t want to devote much thought to, “the creature ‘man’”. What got me started with this book was the style and the nature of the essays – how they were written and what they were all about. A woman’s perspective is very introspective and that is a given always according to me.

Jenny Wren’s book sure is humourous; however it is also a mirror to the times that the book was written in. I for one loved the essays, the style of writing – lucid and to the point. I for one would recommend this book to all women – read it and figure out for yourselves what you think, live, and breathe in today’s age and time.

Book Review: Anatomy of a Disappearance by Hisham Matar

Title: Anatomy of a Disapperance
Author: Hisham Matar
Publisher: Penguin Viking
ISBN: 978-0670916511
Genre: Literary Fiction
PP: 256 Pages
Price: Rs. 399
Source: Publisher
Rating: 4/5

Hisham Matar’s background has a particular resonance at the moment, with the momentous and violent events taking place in Libya. His father was a political dissident opposed the Gaddafi regime, and the family were forced to flee their home and went to live in Egypt. It was from Cairo that his father was abducted, never to be seen again by Matar, although he was reported to be imprisoned in a notorious Libyan jail.

And his latest novel `Anatomy of a Disappearance’ is a moving piece of writing that draws heavily on this personal experience of loss. It is a relatively short book, at less than 250 pages, but is densely packed with emotion, desire, and desperation. It is beautifully written as it explores the relationship between Nuri, a young boy, his father Kamal, and new girlfriend Mona. It is fourteen year old Nuri who spots Mona first, by a hotel pool whilst on holiday, and he gallantly and confidently helps her to take a thorn out of her foot. She is much younger than Kamal, but nevertheless becomes his partner, but Nuri cannot repress the strong feelings that he had and continues to have for her, with inevitable consequences.

His wealthy and privileged upbringing, despite the loss of his beloved mother, is the backdrop to this tale, played out surrounded by other strong female characters like his long devoted servant Naima. He is sent away to an English boarding school at Mona’s insistence, and from here has to suffer the wrench of his father’s disappearance. Kamal’s political views and actions are not clearly spelt out, but the inference about them leading to his loss of liberty is made clear.

I enjoyed reading this book. At first I thought I was going to get bored with so much adolescent angst, but the story soon takes off in some very unexpected directions. The writing is beautiful throughout – sparse, elegant prose which demonstrates Matar’s ability to exercise restraint where it is required, levaing the reader to fill in the gaps. Reading Anatomy of a Disappearance is a joint-effort, the words generating an inner dialogue with readers as they reflect on the occasionally poetic turn of phrase.

Hisham Matar is well-qualified to write this book, born in America of Libyan parents he spent his childhood in Libya and Egypt, but took his degree in architecture in London. As the book moves around from one location to another it is quite clear that this is normal territory to this cosmopolitan writer.

Book Review: The Miracle at Speedy Motors: A No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency Novel by Alexander McCall Smith

Title: The Miracle at Speedy Motors: A No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency Novel
Author: Alexander McCall Smith
Publisher: Hachette India, Hachette Book Group
Genre: Detective Fiction
ISBN: 978-0349119953
PP: 256 pages
Price: Rs. 295
Source: Publisher
Rating: 5/5

Alexander McCall Smith’s novel, “The Miracle at Speedy Motors,” once again celebrates the everyday blessings that too many of us tend to take for granted: the love of our friends and relatives, our good health, the beauty of one’s native land, and the gratification that comes from doing our work well. Mma Ramotswe presides over the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency in Gaborone, Botswana. Her associate is the blunt Grace Makutski, who never fails to mention her score of ninety-seven percent on her final exams at the Botswana Secretarial College. Grace can be smug and patronizing, particularly when she addresses Charlie, the perpetually irritating apprentice of Mr. J. L. B. Matekoni. Mr. Matekoni is Mma Ramotswe’s sweet-natured and compassionate husband as well as the proprietor of Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors, where the detective agency occupies a small office. As always, Mma Ramotswe frequently quotes her hero, Clovis Anderson, who wrote “The Principles of Private Detection.” This treasured book is the source of much of Mma Ramotswe’s practical wisdom. As she drinks her refreshing morning cup of red bush tea, Mma Ramotswe ponders the case of an orphan, Manka Sebina, who wants to find out if she has any living relatives.

Another matter that gives Precious pause is her receipt of a series of anonymous letters that are both insulting and vaguely threatening. Could the reserved Mr. Polopetsi, the general assistant at the garage and their occasional helper at the agency, be the source of the disturbing missives? Another subplot deals with the purchase of a beautiful bed with a heart-shaped headboard by Grace’s fiancé, the kind gentleman, Phuti Radiphuti. Alas, the furniture brings Grace anguish instead of joy.

This novel has vivid and nicely delineated characters: Grace Makutsi is still ambitious and has an exalted opinion of her abilities. She prides herself on her organizational skills: “A tidy office is an efficient office,” she intones. Mma Potokwane, matron of the orphan farm, is a gold mine of information and the source of delicious fruit cakes that she barters for Mr. J. L. B. Matekoni’s assistance around the orphan farm. Mr. Matekoni is often called upon to repair an old water pump, a bus, a tractor, and other broken down pieces of machinery.

Mr. Matekoni and Mma Ramotswe share a house on Zebra Drive with their two foster children, a boy and girl named Puso and Motholeli. Puso is sometimes insecure and angry about his lot in life, and although Motholeli is confined to a wheel chair as a result of “transverse myelitis of the spinal cord,” she has a generally upbeat personality. Although Motholeli’s condition has been considered incurable until now, Mr. Matekoni learns that there is a doctor in Johannesberg who, against all odds, might enable his daughter to walk.

“The Miracle at Speedy Motors” is an amusing, touching, and gentle look at ordinary people who crave a meaningful connection with others and a purpose to their existence. There is a nostalgic bent to McCall Smith’s tribute to those dearly departed who are still with us in spirit, even after they become “late” (Botswanan vernacular for having passed away). I never fail to sigh when Precious longingly remembers her beloved father, Obed Ramotswe, whom everyone respected. “He was a very good man,” she says. “He loved his cattle. He loved his country.” Even such a seemingly small matter as seasonal rains takes on great significance in the parched land of Botswana. Rain is a boon for the people, animals, and the dried out crops, and when it comes, everyone cheers. After all is said and done, Mma Ramotswe recognizes that some problems can be solved and others are beyond repair, “but the holding of hands, human hand in human hand, could help, could make the world seem less broken.” What a lovely sentiment, so perfectly expressed.

Book Review: The Perfect Murder by H.R.F. Keating

Title: The Perfect Murder: The First Inspector Ghote Mystery
Author: H.R.F. Keating
Publisher: Penguin Modern Classics
ISBN: 978-0141194479
Genre: Detective Fiction
PP: 288 pages
Price: Rs. 299
Source: Publisher
Rating: 5/5

It is quite appropriate that Alexander McCall Smith has written the preface to this edition of The Perfect Murder because, although set on a different continent in a quite different society, Smith’s own creation, Precious Ramotswe of the No 1 Ladies Detective Agency has much in common with Inspector Ghote. Their methods are not dissimilar since both have a rather homespun, but effective approach to problem solving and both bring a large measure of basic cunning and common sense to bear. In Ramotswe’s case her constant companion is a well thumbed edition of Clovis Andersen’s `The Principles of Private Detection’, whilst Ghote relies heavily on his equally well used copy of Hans Gross’s `Criminal Detection’.

“The Perfect Murder” sees the debut of Keating’s best known character – Inspector Ganesh Ghote, of the Bombay CID. The police had been called in by Lala Arun Varde, distraught that his secretary – an elderly gentleman called Mr Perfect – had been killed. Varde is “a man of immense wealth” with “vast influence in the highest quarters” – and, as a result, he’s someone Ghote doesn’t want to displease. On the night of the attack, Varde is distraught and blames his business rivals – he apparently views it as an attack on him more than an attack on Perfect. (He was overly-reliant on his secretary by all accounts – but refuses to idenify any of the business rivals he blames). Things turn slightly farcical when it turns out that Mr Perfect actually survived the attack – although, at no point during the book did he ever fully regain consciousness. Even worse, when Ghote returns the following day to continue his investigation, Varde doesn’t take him seriously – refusing to answer his questions and even denying that anything had happened. One of Varde’s son, Dilip, is even worse : where Arun is childish and evasive, Dilip is high-handed and confrontational. The pair clearly believe a mere policeman is beneath them.

“The Perfect Murder” had been handed to Ghote by DSP Samant, officially as his number one priority. Unfortunately, Samant is quite happy to over-burden the Inspector : he also has to deal with Axel Svenssen, a criminologist from UNESCO, as his number one priority, and solve a robbery from the Minister for Police’s office – again, as his number one priority. (Some money had been stolen from the Minister’s desk, and his assistant swears no-one could have got into the room when the robbery took place). Still, it all seems a little over-zealous for a single rupee.

With amusing fresh and stylish dialogue at a pleasantly sedate pace `The Perfect Murder’ makes an enjoyable and entertaining read that is a far cry from today’s horrific roller-coaster crime thrillers. In spite of its title the book deals with low key situations of an unsolvable assault and a puzzling minor theft. The setting is Bombay, now Mumbai, at a time when India was more influenced than now by then recent British colonialism. It is surprising how brilliantly author H R F Keating evokes the spirit, attitudes and traditions of the time – especially as the `Preface’ explains he did not visit until after he had written numerous Inspector Ghote detective novels – of which the initial story is `The Perfect Murder’ and it was first published in 1964.

There are strong moral connotations with Inspector Ghote being an upright and honest man operating and dealing with dishonourable and frustrating circumstances. He strives to follow guidance from the esteemed `Gross’s Criminal Investigation’ in his attempts to remain diplomatic and yet come to terms with undue pressures and corruption, and he emerges as a most endearing character who elicits much sympathy. Inspector Ghote is beset with lies and evasion as he copes with misinformation and incompetence and has to thwart obstructive witnesses and confusing suspects to unravel intriguing predicaments. H R F Keating manages to create characters perfectly suited to his delightful light-hearted narrative and charmingly scintillating humorous language. `The Perfect Murder’ is easy and relaxed reading – for my next holiday I shall be taking other books from the Inspector Ghote series.

Book Review: The Seven Poor Travellers by Charles Dickens

Title: The Seven Poor Travellers
Author: Charles Dickens
Publisher: Hesperus Press. Hesperus Classics
ISBN: 978-1843912064
Genre: Classics, Short Tales
PP: 152 pages
Price: £7.99
Source: Publisher
Rating: 4/5

Dickens but of course has to be on the list of everyone’s favourite writers. One book or the other has done it for them. From Great Expectations to Pickwick Papers to Our Mutual Friend, we have identified our favourites and the ones we do not like. Charles Dickens had spun tales, which we cherish today.

Hesperus Press publishes gems of books, and some of the reviews can be found on my blog. For me reading these novellas is like entering another world – of beauty, sometimes madness and sheer excitement. The Seven Poor Travellers is one such rare work and thank you Hesperus Press for publishing it.

The Seven Poor Travellers is a collection of Seven Tales (Six plus One) about seven travellers, all gathered at Watts’ Charity – a sparse yet cosy almhouse, where they share stories following a Christmas Eve Dinner. For me the book was marvellously written. Four stories from this collection are from Dickens’ contemporaries – Wilkie Collins, Adelaide Proctor, George Sala, and Eliza Linton. This is in addition to his own stories.

Personally, for me, the book hit a chord, mainly because of the ending, the seven travelers – seventh one being the story teller – left Christmas Day from the Watt’s Charity Home and went their own ways without any link between the story teller, the characters in the story, and the travelers. The reason I liked it this way was because of the leaving to assumption, what happened to each character and where did their lives go after that one night, or where it could have was brilliant and that can only come about by some great writing.

Book Review: Was by Geoff Ryman

Title: Was
Author : Geoff Ryman
Publisher: Orion Publishing
ISBN: 978-0575081475
Genre: Fantasy, Literary Fiction
PP: 464 pages
Price: Rs. 395
Source: Personal Copy
Rating: 5/5

This dense and disturbing novel offers a look into the life of one Dorothy Gael of Kansas, Ryman’s imaginary inspiration for the well-loved Dorothy of the Wizard of Oz, and into a bevy of other characters whose lives are touched (directly or indirectly) by her. His Dorothy doesn’t have a happy story, and for most of the novel misery carries the day. It is softened by the depths of character and a few moving exemplars of compassion. Wrapped within the novel is a fascinating glimpse into the history of the book and the movie-from its disreputable and unsavory youth to its arrival as a full-blown American classic.

“Was” is not going to be universally appreciated. It is difficult. More than once I found myself reminded of James Joyce; there’s a lot going on, and the language isn’t always easy to penetrate. The book has something to say about human nature, the way the world and other people break us. Society’s response to difference and pain. Homosexuality, child abuse, even the enfeeblement of the aged-the miseries of the human condition are shunned for their power to infect.

I can’t say that I always enjoyed this book, though I’m glad I read it. I found it very well written. The characters were in my opinion completely believable. Ryman exhibits a compassion for everyone he writes here, from the least sympathetic to the most. He seems to really understand what drives human beings to the ways they behave, and, unlike the society he represents, he’s willing to look at them unflinchingly. I did find the narrative jumps sometimes a little tough to follow; the book required more work than it always rewarded in that regard. But that’s in keeping with the rest of this novel, which doesn’t spoon-feed you answers. What’s the purpose of all this misery? Perhaps it is so that we, like one of the characters, can say, “I’m going to have to do something about all of this.”

In this book, in this world, there are Dorothies aplenty, shattered souls who need our help. This resonant novel is a powerful reminder of that fact, an incentive to let them know they are loved. Through most of this novel I would have called this a 4-star, maybe even a high 3–but I found the final section so gripping and the conclusion so powerful that I wouldn’t be doing it justice to give it less than a 5. It may not make its way to your list of classics, but it deserves its placement on mine.

Lisa Napoli – Radio Shangri-La – Out Soon!

So I am very very excited in announcing on my blog that RandomHouse India is soon going to be releasing Lisa Napoli’s “Radio Shangri-La” which was earlier featured on my blog. It is an awesome book about discovering Bhutan and its culture.

You can read the review here

For me the book was like a warm, nice, and safe place that I could turn to and learn and know more about a new country. Go get this book when it is out! I will definitely post more about it.

Book Review: No Alphabet in Sight: New Dalit Writing from South India Dossier 1: Tamil and Malayalam: Edited by K. Satyanarayana and Susie Tharu

Title: No Alphabet in Sight: New Dalit Writing from South India Dossier 1: Tamil and Malayalam
Author: Edited by K. Satyanarayana and Susie Tharu
Publisher: Penguin India
ISBN: 9780143414261
PP: 656 pages
Genre: Fiction, Non-Fiction, Poetry
Price: Rs. 599
Source: Publisher
Rating: 5/5

What is the true nature of a democratic country? The real face of it. When does it appear and make itself visible or does it choose to remain hidden and elusive, considering the fact that the country isn’t really democratic, if one looks closely? The idea of the distinction in just about everything is so evident and appalling to a very large extent.

And this is when a book like “No Alphabet in Sight” is published. My personal belief is that if you can make people aware of what exists behind the shadows, then in all probability half of your work is already done. The book is a collection of New Dalit Writing and it is a first volume from South India, featuring Tamil and Malayalam Writers. Edited by K. Satyanarayana and Susie Tharu, two stalwarths in Cultural and Women Studies, this collection is a heady mix of fiction and non-fiction, basically points of view.

What got me started with this collection were the poems – dark, dense and touching that basic chord in human beings, these poems are nothing short of brilliance. The volume brings together close to 40 intellectuals’ works from Tamil Nadu and Kerala – all searching and questionning the same situation – The Dalit Situation and what will be its’ fate in Modern India? The book delves into bigger questions and issues, about what it means to be a Dalit and how despite modernization and technological advancement, we are and will always remain a backward nation.

People from every walk of life – teachers, clerks, students, officers, factory workers, journalists and activists, these writers bring to front their opinions, their views and what they think awareness classification should be and how will people understand the true, Dalit Movement. For me, the book was an eye-opener, making everything that was hidden being brought to the front. A must read if you have the time and the patience and the willingness to know more.

Book Review: Lucy by Laurence Gonzales

Title: Lucy
Author: Laurence Gonzales
Publisher: Knopf, Random House
Genre: Science Fiction, Literary Fiction, Futuristic
ISBN: 978-0307272607
PP: 320 pages
Price: $24.95
Source: Publisher
Rating: 4/5

In Lucy by Laurence Gonzales the author taps into a common fear expressed about the potential for research in the area of genomics– what if someone manages to breed a human with an ape, what would be the result? There is lots of speculation that such interbeeding is possible, all of it accompanied by disclaimers along the line of “but of course nobody would do that.” Well in this book someone did, a scientist whose goal was not research but to bring about a new race of hominids and help save humanity.

Gonzales maintains the focus of his book on Lucy, the extraordinary child who results from her scientist father’s research and on Jenny, the anthropologist who rescues her from the Congo after her father is killed by Congolese insurgents. While reading the first part of the book my main reaction was disappointment– I found it not to be particularly well written and there were numerous info dumps. The revelation that Lucy was half bonobo ape came much too quickly. However, I think Gonzales just wanted to get all of that background out of the way so he could focus on what happens to Lucy as she tries to assimilate in society. Once Lucy gets settled in Chicago and starts going to school, the book becomes much more interesting, and I had a hard time putting it down. I found his descriptions of Lucy trying to adjust to life in the hectic world of the United States after growing up in isolation in the African jungle very insightful, particularly her reaction to her first visit to a shopping center.

When a medical emergency results in the realization that Lucy’s secret will be exposed, Lucy, Jenny and Lucy’s best friend, Amanda, take the bull by the horns and announce Lucy’s heritage to the world on YouTube. Gonzales avoids addressing the larger issue of whether such research should be conducted and keeps his focus narrowly on Lucy– in her case the research has been done, she is here, and how should we deal with her? Some might criticize Gonzales for bypassing the larger issues, however by focusing on Lucy, and dealing with the moral issues peripherally, Gonzales manages to bring home some of the major issues involved in primate research. When Lucy is captured and is subjected to a craniotomy for research purposes, we realize what a very narrow line separates humans from the apes on whom such research is routinely conducted. By making Lucy subject to religious attacks by those who think she is an abomination, Gonzales manages to highlight some of the dangers involved in a theocratic society.

I didn’t want to stop reading this book. Life is busy, but I just wanted to keep reading (and it’s an easy, fast read, if you have the time). While not perfect (dialogue, other issues), I very highly recommend this book. The blurb says it’s written in the tradition of Mary Shelley and Michael Crichton. True, but in a thoroughly modern-fiction way. Those who enjoy reading about situations that pose ethical dilemmas may well find this book stimulating. I found it to be a melding of sci-fi, contemporary literary fic, and teen fic, with societal implications. This book did what that book promised much more successfully. Additionally, I felt that this book wasn’t as formulaic as it might have been, which scored points with me.

“Lucy” is one of those novels that rises above it’s imperfections to provide grist for those who love to examine society, unusual situations, and the “what if’s” that come along in our lives now and then, as the best fiction/science fiction can do. I think this book can help readers ponder the human “condition,” that which makes us human, the bigger universe and connection with life forms different from our own, and opens our eyes to changes in our world and the various ways they can be greeted. Again, this book isn’t perfect, but I’d say it was way worth the time and worth the trip.