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Goodbye to All That
When the unnamed protagonist of this sparkling novel is confronted with an ultimatum find three bestselling authors within a year or resign the carefree future he had envisioned for himself is suddenly in jeopardy. He is twenty-nine, single, recovering, without serious injury, from a nearly failed relationship, and the commissioning editor for economics for a large British publisher s India operation. It is a life almost blessed. The unexpected jolt at his workplace, however, makes him seriously consider whether publishing is the perfect calling for him. But before he can decide, he still has a mission to fulfil. And so begins a search for the elusive bestselling authors there are obdurate professors and experts to meet, journeys to take, contracts to sign. And at the same time there are girls to woo, planes to fly, good whiskey to drink, and fun to be had with friends and colleagues. Gradually, disillusionment creeps in, and in keeping with the ironical tone of the book, our hero simply walks away, perhaps to make another life, travelling light, free of the old job, the old girlfriend, the old friends.
340 pages, Paperback
Published October 1, 2018
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
August 2, 2019
Goodbye to All That
A Delhi Story
TCA Srinivasa Raghavan
Speaking Tiger
INR 350/
For all those who knew publishing was a cut throat business here’s a book to make your dreams come true. The young protagonist who works for the Delhi branch of a British publishing firm has been given a year to find three bestselling authors who also happen to be honoured economists and get them to write for the firm. There is an ‘or else’ thrown into the deadline and the young hero equates it to a hanging sentence. He has to focus and do what he has been ordered to or be deprived of the kind of life he loves, a cigarette smoking alcohol swigging existence. This is the Delhi of the 70’s a world that can be called as bygone as the Raj, if you think about it and the fact that British publishing firms may well be more cut throat than most.
The ingredients for entertainment are all there – girls, broken hearts, the possibility of encountering ones ex while trying to track down the three paragons without whom most bestseller lists would be incomplete. There are subplots galore to keep the interest going and the story is told in a fast paced economical style that piles the heat on. It is a slim book with only 242 pages and could be called a pot boiler – however the author has deftly packed a fairly wide canvas into a small space, you might remember Jane Austen’s ‘two inches of ivory’ except that the world Raghavan inhabits is sprawling and brawling and tempts you to turn quickly to the end to find out what happened. Raghavan’s characters are realistic and may possibly have something autobiographical about them as first novels very often do, since quite a few of them give the feeling of having been drawn from real life.
There are things that leave the reader wanting to know more and perhaps there is a hint at a sequel. Publishing and advertising share the same kind of excitement – spaces where creativity meets lifestyle madness with money at stake and creativity and money mindedness are a lethal cocktail and the perfect prescription for a page turning read. This is the author’s first attempt at fiction which might seem surprising to quite a few. For the rest, one has to wait and watch – even though the author does mention that this is not just his first novel but also his last.
The title of course, is familiar, Robert Graves' magnum opus, but that possibly cannot be helped.
A Delhi Story
TCA Srinivasa Raghavan
Speaking Tiger
INR 350/
For all those who knew publishing was a cut throat business here’s a book to make your dreams come true. The young protagonist who works for the Delhi branch of a British publishing firm has been given a year to find three bestselling authors who also happen to be honoured economists and get them to write for the firm. There is an ‘or else’ thrown into the deadline and the young hero equates it to a hanging sentence. He has to focus and do what he has been ordered to or be deprived of the kind of life he loves, a cigarette smoking alcohol swigging existence. This is the Delhi of the 70’s a world that can be called as bygone as the Raj, if you think about it and the fact that British publishing firms may well be more cut throat than most.
The ingredients for entertainment are all there – girls, broken hearts, the possibility of encountering ones ex while trying to track down the three paragons without whom most bestseller lists would be incomplete. There are subplots galore to keep the interest going and the story is told in a fast paced economical style that piles the heat on. It is a slim book with only 242 pages and could be called a pot boiler – however the author has deftly packed a fairly wide canvas into a small space, you might remember Jane Austen’s ‘two inches of ivory’ except that the world Raghavan inhabits is sprawling and brawling and tempts you to turn quickly to the end to find out what happened. Raghavan’s characters are realistic and may possibly have something autobiographical about them as first novels very often do, since quite a few of them give the feeling of having been drawn from real life.
There are things that leave the reader wanting to know more and perhaps there is a hint at a sequel. Publishing and advertising share the same kind of excitement – spaces where creativity meets lifestyle madness with money at stake and creativity and money mindedness are a lethal cocktail and the perfect prescription for a page turning read. This is the author’s first attempt at fiction which might seem surprising to quite a few. For the rest, one has to wait and watch – even though the author does mention that this is not just his first novel but also his last.
The title of course, is familiar, Robert Graves' magnum opus, but that possibly cannot be helped.
Displaying 1 of 1 review