I just finished reading Samrat Upadhyay's new book, The Royal Ghosts. I think this book is as good (maybe better) than his previous two.

I am including a link to one of the Nepali review below. I think Samrat's books are generally good for anyone but it is specially great treat for us Nepali who are not living in Nepal. It just takes us back to Nepal.

I would love to hear thoughts of other people who have read this book.

A review of the book is at
- http://samudaya.org/articles/archives/2006/01/samrat_upadhaya.php

You can get it on Amazon or any local store. i got mine at Borders. So it should be availabel in any decent size book store anywhere
- http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0618517499/qid=1138659402/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-4328083-9492066?n=507846&s=books&v=glance

I wonder what people really get out of reading fiction. In almost all cases the characters are fiction, the events are fiction and no matter how dramatic the story can be, the whole thing is fiction therefore I very rarely find anything compelling in fiction.

I rather read non-fiction books about political and miltary leaders because the characters are not fiction, the events are not fiction and yet they are full of high dramas that were never detached from real life.

I Just happened to see something new through this particular thread:
While I was getting through the link provided by bindesh somewhere up there, the website itself grabbed my attention, more than the subject matter I particularly was looking for. I don't know who owns and maintains that site (I'll check with IANA later), but whoever does, my thumbs up to him/her! The effort they've been making while working on it seems to be pretty intense, however the publicity appears to be feeble. Probably because they've intended to show the ".org" flavor on it; which by all means is fine!

khaobadi
your 'non-fiction', too is someone's interpretation of what happened
and although it reflects reality
it is not the real deal
in that sense, it is even more of a fiction than fiction

How can non-fiction be more fiction than fiction..ha hah ha

Oh well ...at least non-fiction is someone's interpretation of something that actually happened.
Fiction is someone's interpretation of something that NEVER REALLY happened. How badly can someone be detached form the reality ?

a million little pieces

" Minds In Many Pieces" is NON-FICTION book written by a California based Psychologist Ralph Allison about a woman with "Multiple Personaltiy Disorder" whom he successfully treated.

I never read such a non-fiction book on interpretation of what may be going inside the mind of a person with Multiple Personality Disorder from a personal point of view while he treated the patient. It a story of high drama, a story of despair, a story of great hope, a story of a troubled person becoming a normal person. The most important of all, it's NOT FICTION.

The book blows out any fiction books I ever read on all accounts. I find how badly fiction books are out of synch and out of touch with the reality.

My only complaint against the otherwise suave and impressive Mr Upadhyay is the explicit content in some of his works. Anyone know how this books measures on that count?

Meera:

Surprising the new book of Samrat does not deal with sex that much. I do not know if it is conscious effort on his part or not.

I definitely believe those us Nepali who can afford $12.00 should definitely buy this book. It can also be a good gift for those work birthday party lunch.

Captain Haddock:

As I said above it does not deal with sex that much. But it deals with adultery in one story (not explicit descriptions) and gay theme in other. I would say it is not PG but maybe PG-13.

khaobaadi ji... by the way...
Samrat Upadhya is a non-fiction writer.... dont panic


I LOVED HIS FIRST TWO BOOKS

I've read Samrat's first two novels... Definitely not amongst the best books I've read, but they were engaging and interesting to read. And that qualifies as a decent read in my book.

The man deserves our support. No one else has managed to make it to that stratosphere from Nepal before. It's not a small accomplishment. Infact this month's Elle Magazine even features his book as a must read. I know it's not the NY Times Book Review, but its a mainstream publication nonetheless.

http://www.elle.com/article.asp?section_id=36&article_id=7956&page_number=3&magind=7953

"• From Samrat Upadhyay, the author of the much-praised novel Arresting God in Kathmandu, comes a striking story collection, The Royal Ghosts (Mariner), in which young, savvy Nepalese are pitted against one another, and themselves, by that nation’s bloody Maoist insurgency, and whose families—inured to ancient traditions of arranged marriage and caste discrimination—face news like that which begins the title story so eerily and irresistibly: "That June morning, a Saturday, the whole country woke to the news of the killings inside the palace."

Some interesting kuras in this thread.

I read with interest the comments in this and the other thread in Samudaya. The main thrust of the debate appears to have centred around one central issue: the seeming lack of artistic merit in Upadhyay's writing, because, (a) his stories lack 'complexity and depth' in portraying contemporary Nepal; (b) his story lines are so predictable with a loose blend of all too common, unimpressive characters and inflexible 'narratives'; (c) sex is a permanent fixture in his novel/stories, et cetera.

Now let me say this first:
(a) I have not read this new book and the novel before that;
(b) I have however read his first book, and that too, some five years ago;
(c) I don't claim to be an authority on Upadhyay's literary output or any one else's for that matter;
(d) Like many things in life, my reading experience is born out of one common factor: pleasure. So, I am much less of a critical reader obviously than one can perhaps pretend to be purely for this simple reason, let alone a critic.

Whilst I agree that Upadhyay's rather narrowed choice of subjects and settings, Kathmandu-centric as it is, do unwittingly reflect his hesitation in exploring beyond the fringe of a decidedly middle class locale that his characters hail from, I am less willing to go along with the claim that Upadhyay's writing does lack artistic merit and that his is effectively just another brand of 'low art' but with a fair dose of attention it commands in much the same way a teeny-weeny pop song does. Now this is a rather precarious stance for one to be taking in my humble opinion given the fact that there has been little or no critical inquiry conducted thus far to fully - to paraphrase Sir Francis Bacon - 'weigh and consider' his creative oeuvre. Maybe his works lack 'complexity and depth' in terms of tackling the core of what it takes to be an authentic Nepali culture. Maybe, maybe not - I would not know purely for the caveats I list above. What I however know is that, yes, his works' central conceit does lack the Kafkaesque grandeur or the shrewd and astutely skilled craftsmanship of Borges or Thomas Mann but such an undertaking - the idea of comparing one's works with the 'old masters' - is a rather futile business and will yield no meaningful outcome. Judging one's creative output with such a defined but patently narrowed viewpoint of the old vs the new is nothing but a display of one's dogged obedience to an all too elitist attitude - something we as readers, are all or at least have been guilty of harbouring. I think, the reading experience is an atrociously flawed one, given our proclivity to switch to differing perspectives in consort with the changing nature of tastes and values that we attach importance to all very easily. Whatever but I agree, there has got to be some form of parameters set somewhere as a demarcation or rather like a 'line in the sand'; I am particularly thinking here about the famous notion of 'tradition' the good old TS Elliot advocated so passionately. However, such defined parameters should in no way act as THE yardstick to judge one's artistic merit - works of literature by their very nature tend to be awfully fluid and this is what gives the creative imagination an outlet to flourish and progress forward. If we were to strictly follow the inflated rubrics of what it takes to be a great writer, the expression of the creative self is bound to be left stunted for forever more, and there won't have such a thing as literature and by extension, the efficacy of the creative imagination would have lost its universal appeal.

What we like (and also what we don't) is pretty much governed by what we perceive as important in our lives - our tastes and our value system, our tendencies all fashioned by the ever changing social processes: the time and circumstances we live in has a bearing on our attitudes to all things in life. And what I like may not necessarily be something others might or must willingly reciprocate by liking back - to make me happy as it were. The same applies to the reading experience, and one's appreciation of works of literature. The Irish writer cum critic Frank O'Connor thought, Hemingway was crap, and his works were all 'a minor art', and raised no higher than upto the level of - in the modern parlance - 'airport trash'. O'Connor perhaps saw simplicity in the latter's prose as a flaw, and like some of us in this thread, he might well have looked for complexity in his writing but little did he know, beneath the veneer of simple words lay grand meanings and message. It is this element of simplicity - a subtle tool in his clever approach to the stylistic anatomy of his prose - which set Hemingway apart from all others. Would Hemingway have cared about though what his detractors wrote about dare I say - his seeming lack of artistic merit in his prose? He would not have given a toss, because he knew like any discernible writer, critiquing was the critics' job, and whether one got reviewed unfavourably was something that bore no relevance in the grand scheme of things as long as one kept on writing. Keep writing was exactly what he did - reason all the more to celebrate for those of us who grew up reading his books.

As for sex in works of literature - well, wasn't DH Lawrence vilified in the media and public for the graphic scenes in his seminal 'Lady Chatterley's Lover'? And the same happened with Flaubert when he wrote Madam Bovary? Take for instance Anais Nin - the outrageous French writer who were later to claim in her diaries that she had actually had sexual relationship with her own father. Bloody hell. But wasn't her works they found to be too explicit in sexual contents to the point of being dubbed as pornographic and yet the latter day ultra-feminists (Noamy Wolf, Germain Greer and co including their formidable predecessor and Sartre's muse, Simone de Beauvoir) were to hail her as the doyenne of the feminist movement? All these examples point to only one conclusion: that it is okay to include the depiction of sex, graphic or otherwise, in works of literature.

Now more on to the point:

Do I like Samrat Upadhyay's prose?
Yes, I do for its Hemingwaysque simplicity. His simple words evoke imagery with pitch perfect precision. Marvellous narrative voice and characterisation.

Do I mind the sex scenes in his stories?
Why should I? I find it a delight in much the same way I find it in DH Lawrence or Flaubert. Or Anais Nin for that matter though I must admit that I have never read her.

Do I think, his is 'a minor art'?
Who am I to say about something I have little or no handle on or lack the unequivocal qualification to judge with a beady-eye of an informed-critical reader? Whether his writing is crap or wonderful is something purely for the critics, and to a lesser extent his readers, to decide. Personally, I think, his writing is wonderfully enjoyable and his prose sharp with every element of 'high art' unless someone offers me a genuine reason why I should think to the contrary.

Has he made me proud as a Nepali?
Oh yes, absolutely. He's the only Nepali writer to have reached where he is - something none of his predecessors had succeeded in doing so. Hey, where is my loyalty yaar?

Is he or will he be a great writer?
What's great anyway? I have faith in his ability as a great storyteller but his greatness is something we'll get to see him achieve only in the fullness of time. I have only best wishes for him.


So, let's not expect Kafka, Hemingway, Borges or Carver out of someone who's still trying his level best to find his feet in what is clearly an extremely competitive field. Let's give him his due share of credit for putting Kathmandu on to the world literary map for permanent. Let's wish him good luck but most importantly, let's read him, shall we?
Carpe diem

My dear Commandant,
Not a critic you say?the above prose would beg to differ. Perhaps, you ought to give a session or two in outstanding prose to Mr. Upadhyay :-)

I said it before and I will say it again, I have nothing but respect for Mr. Upadhyay seeing that he is the sole writer of Nepali origin to have reached the world stage and deserves the respect and adulation of Nepalese and lovers of fiction irrespective of their nationality. However, judging from his first book "Arresting God in Kathmandu" the characters in his books I think, could certainly use more definition.

Personally, I don't believe that hoping for more definition in characters is an indiciation of "dogged obedience to old elitist views". Personally for me, purely from the standpoint of a lover of literature, well developed characters add to the beauty of the prose and the imagery that the author creates.

Mr. Upadhyay is no doubt a talented writer because he does a marvellous job of capturing the essense of the streets and alleys of Kathmandu and also kudos to him for having the fortitude to bring up the issue of sexual relations in modern day Nepal, but, again, I hope that his latest installment, which I have not had the pleasure of reading yet, has the defined characters and fluidity of prose which make a great book.

In saying the above, I am not comparing him to the likes of Hemingway and Milton. Sadly, writers from the subcontinent (possibly with the exception of Rushdie and V.S. Naipaul and now, Arundhuti Roy) have never been given accolades to the extent that Hemingway and Milton enjoyed...perhaps, Mr. Upadhyay will in time reach the echelons of these writers.

KT NY writes:

"I know [Elle Magazine's review is] not the NY Times Book Review, but its a mainstream publication nonetheless."


For your information, the NY Times is INDEED coming out with a review of Samrat's
latest book soon. Once that review comes out, it will make Samrat the FIRST Nepali
writer to have ALL three of his books reviewed by the NYT. A small routine
achievement, to be sure!

As for discerning Samrat's talents as a writer perhaps other 'writer-ly' Nepalis,
who seem to have major-league publishers banging on their door for manuscripts,
can do so more authoritatively here than I, as a mere reader, ever can.

oohi
ashu

There I 'see' you again Madam - blimey.
What? Me giving a session on prose to Mr Upadhyay? But wouldn't that be akin to following the maxims of this rather intriguing turn of Nepali ukhan? Indra ko agaadi swarga ko bayaan, or something to that effect. :-) And there is one more: alpa gyaan bhayankaar. Very dangerous that is - little knowledge. :)

As for the "dogged obedience to old elitist views". Blame it all on me and my puny head as I once used to think, only works by Novel laureates were worth any read. How preposterous that was, I know. And I did actually try and read only them - the laureates. Remember this was after I had safely advanced from my teenage years - those years of reading Mills & Boons and loads of Prakash Kovid. A bad case of alpa gyaan there again, I am afraid! :)

Yes, I agree, not all those from the subcontinent have been reviewed in the West or elsewhere as vigorously. Perhaps it all comes with the vagaries of them living in or writing about a place where the writing medium viz English is less accessible to the general readership; it appears to be more pertinent to us lot. There ought to be only a fraction of urban dwelling Nepalis who would have heard the names of or read Samrat Upadhyay and Manjushree Thapa.

I might perhaps add a vew names to your list after Naipaul et al: the two Oxonians in the shape of Vikram Seth and Amitav Ghosh. There are other 'great' writers, the likes of Nirad Choudhuri (another Blighticised Indian!), Mulk Raj Anand etc, who would in my opinion equally deserve a place in the world literary canon. Oh, and Delhi's ubiquitous Dirty Old Harry - Khushwant Singh. Why not! Choudhuri's essays are a class act and so are Anand's short stories/novels. Kolkata's own 'Cine Poet' imminently comes to mind - Satyajit Ray. But people would remember him more for his cinematic genius than for his writing prowess - I have read a few of his short stories.

BTW, I just read an Upadhyay interview on Samudaya - cracking. He's said a lot of things that I wanted to say in this forum. His answer to the last question aptly addresses the issue of ownership of Nepalipan and its 'authentic representation' in literary prose, especially by those writing in English. You might want to have a try if you have not already read it.

Okay enough woffle. Have a good day.
**************

Ashu,
Thanks for the info - look forward to reading the review in NY Times in due course.

Carpe diem

..And there you are again :-)

Thank you for adding Vikram Seth to that most illustrous of lists. I loved "A Suitable Boy" and his collection of "Kakoli couplets". Khushwant Singh..not quite sure about Dirty Harry but, the devil needs it's due, and I must admit that he does write very well.

I must admit that I am not as familiar as I perhpas ought to be with Amitav Ghosh, but, I have an ever expanding Summer reading list so I may have to put him on that.

Looks like the "establishment" got us in their clenches..I too, like you, seem to have been a victim, in that I stuck to the stars of literature: Austin, O'Henry, Somerset Maughum et all..William Darcy being the highest achievement in strength of a character (I know that had to do a heck of a lot more with Mr. Firth:-)) but it is indeed wonderful to be able to walk away from that doggedness, but, the downside is that you tend to compare other very gifted writeres with the novel laurete "norm".

Till later, Sir.

Interview with Samrat Upadhyay

- http://samudaya.org/articles/archives/2006/02/interview_with_1.php

When Royal Ghost published in Feb 9…may be I brought in Feb 12 from Border with $13 cost.
Why did I buy Royal Ghost?
I have heard many times about his creation “Arresting God in KTM “and “The Guru of Love”. But I have not read these two books. I read about Samrat Uppadhya and his new book ‘Royal Ghosts” in Nepalese Newspaper. These all news made me to buy “The Royal Ghost’. All of the stories I finished within one week. NY Subway and Central Park was my place to read these stories. If you read this story in KTM may be you will have different vision but reading in the out of Nepal… I saw all images in the story.
I hope many of you already had this short stories collection. I would like to share my analysis about this book.
There are 9 stories in this Royal ghosts, all set in Kathmandu valley or let’s say only in Kathmandu like Dharahara,Lazimpat,Tripuresor,Bansbari,Bagbazar and so on. Some of the character comes from out of Kathmandu valley like Janakpur or Ghorkha. All of the character lives in KTM and works in KTM. When you go through with the story you will see all the café shop, Street and more scenarios. I like the first 2 story. A Refugee and the Wedding Hero. When I finished reading these two stories I realize that Samrat Uppadhya present the characters in innocent way. Without doing any thing by themself character suffers in the story. And the “Weight of Gun” one of the Best story I like. There is no decorative ending in the story. Some stories has symptom of ongoing Maoist conflict’s consequence.
The third stage is more hypothetical story. I had lots of hope and eager to read the final story “The royal ghosts’ I read that story at last because I thought it would be the best One! If I would read the Royal Ghost in the beginning I would not read any of rest stories. If possible I would return this book.Writer used the Title Royal Ghost to CASH his book. There is not only Nepali English reader but also there are many more English readers for Nepali literature.so probally he tried to CASH the Present situation Of Nepal in The title. He used the sensible background in the story which I felt so bad. Writer could use other back ground the represent the story could be better. I feel so bad reading this final story. And in That background he could create the nice story!

One of the characters in each story talks about Indian things some character talks about Amitab bachhan or manisha Koirala or Dilip Kumar or even Indian food. Why each of one character is joining with Indian stuff..? That’s I did not like…That does not represent the creative writing…that represents the writer himself or his ness.
The entire story seems like English Translation of Nepali story. I could not find out any creative way of expressing. And there is no depth of characters and situation.
Most stories have plain exterior. Yes there are some emotional catch in the story like the weight of Gun. When I finished all this stories…I felt if the writer would collect all of the characters in one stage and create the nice novel would be more effective!

After reading the posts from you guys i finally read the book and i did not find it as engaging compared to his previous two books. The stories were much simpler. I mean some of the Nepali writers stories in Nepal magazine has been much better. or even some of our Sajha guys have better story lines and subject.

I think he wrote this book just to increase the number of creation and i hope he does a better job next time.

Himaliketo,

Thank you for the review on "Royal Ghosts". It's disheartening for me to know that the "problems" I had with reading Mr. Upadhyay's first novel seem to remain in this installment as well. I had hoped that he would move away from the Kathmnadu centric vision that was so apparent in "Arresting God in Kathmandu".

One point of disagreement with your review however is when you say "One of the characters in each story talks about Indian things some character talks about Amitab bachhan or manisha Koirala or Dilip Kumar or even Indian food. Why each of one character is joining with Indian stuff..? That’s I did not like…That does not represent the creative writing…that represents the writer himself or his ness"
I think we need to keep in mind that Nepali society--whether we like it or not is heavily influenced by Indian popular culture-i.e. Bollywood.
It is not a figment of Mr. Upadhyay's imagination when his characters seem pre-occupied with characters of Bollywood or reference to Indian food because we are all well aware, Bollywood makes a lot of money in Nepal and as mentioned earlier, Indian culture/food etc is a huge part of the "shared" cultural aspects of Nepal and India. Therefore, I personally, cannot hold a grudge against Mr.Upadhyay on that front.
********************************************************************
Sheetalb,

I haven't read the book yet so I was wondering what you meant by "the stories were a lot simpler" - Do you mean that the level of sophistication of writing was not to the level of your expectation or that the stories are not well developed? If that is the case, again, more dissappointment there, because I was actually looking forward to being proved wrong in my earlier rather nasty post on Mr. Upadhyay's writing in "Arresting God in Kathmandu".

I do intend to read the book even though the expectations in light of the two posts has come down several nothces.