Ravi Singh: "I am not a great fan of lists or literary awards"

I am not a great fan of lists or literary awards
The Kathmandu Post, 30-May-2010

Ravi Singh is the editor-in-chief of Penguin India, India’s largest publishing house. He spoke to Amish Raj Mulmi about his reading habits, and why no author has been able to write like Dostoevsky.

What are you currently reading?
I am reading a manuscript by Patrick French, whose most recent work was The World Is What It Is (V.S. Naipaul’s biography). His new book is tentatively titled India: A Portrait, and is about contemporary India.

What’s the last book that you read?
I read a very interesting book called The Lost River: On the trail of the Sarasvati (Michel Danino). The issue is a very contentious one, and there are very sharp divisions because of questions on nationalism, the Aryan theory, etc. Danino makes a very logical case that the Sarasvati was a very major river, and that it was as important, if not more, than the Indus.

Before that, I read The Hindus: An Alternative History (Wendy Doniger), which is the best tribute to a great, yet flawed, religion.

Who are your favourite authors, except the ones you publish?
I suppose I am old-fashioned, but the one writer who I would name is Dostoevsky. I don’t think there is anybody who has reached that level of genius. Then, there is the Mahabharat—probably the greatest story ever told—which you can’t attribute to a single author. Among the more contemporary ones, V.S. Naipaul is a favourite, who’s a fantastic writer. Then there is this fairly underrated author called Christopher Isherwood, who championed transparency and simplicity in prose. If you are judging only by the writing, then he’s probably among the greats for me.

Any favourite books?
Crime and Punishment (Dostoevsky), definitely. The Mahabharat has to be on this list, even though I don’t know whether it qualifies as a book. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry) is great, as is Lord Jim (Joseph Conrad). Then, A Passage to India (E.M. Forster), which many people find strange. But I wish I would read more translations, and that there were more translations in English. For instance, among Hindi writers, I can’t identify a single work, but if you look at their whole body of work, Dharamvir Bharati and Manohar Shyam Joshi are the two authors I really like.

Any overrated and underrated books?
There are many overrated books, and the ones that I remember are obviously contemporary books. But I am not going to identify them; a couple of them are Booker winners. But I personally think Martin Amis is overrated.

There are many underrated authors; Christopher Isherwood is one. From India, there is this author called Arun Joshi, who wrote this phenomenal book called The Strange Case of Billy Biswas. Globally, I think Elfriede Jelinek, who’s won a Nobel Prize, is also underrated. Another writer, who I think should be read more in this part of the world, is Alice Munro, the best living short story writer. Then there is this Japanese writer called Yukio Mishima, who’s kind of going out of fashion now because Haruki Murakami has become ‘the great Japanese writer’.

Do you prefer fiction or non-fiction?
Both, actually. I find reading a really great work of fiction a transformative experience. But I read more non-fiction, which is like knowing an aspect of the world you weren’t really clued into. I think the books that do that are near-miraculous. Travel writing interests me quite a lot; I would also really like a popular science book. And the large theme-books, like The Hindus.

What do you think of book lists?
They are fun, but you shouldn’t take them too seriously. Of course, out of a 100 books’ list, 30 would appear on any list. So there is some value in that if you are looking for recommendations on what to read. I am not a great fan of lists or literary awards, because this is not a horse race. You can always tell a bad book from a good book, but if you are looking at really-good writing, how do you distinguish one great book from another? If you are a sensitive reader who has been reading a lot, you will make your own list. It’s better to discover books that way than being recommended all the time.

And book reviews?
They are absolutely necessary, because they sustain a culture of reading, and they are crucial for writers and publishers. Even a bad review often works in your favour. What is really damaging is no review or notice at all. But most reviews tend to be amateurish or irresponsible.

Why should one read?
I might sound facetious, but the world is not going to end if you don’t read. And I am not even sure if reading makes you a good person. But there is a lot to be said in favour of reading; it helps you make sense of the world that you are living in, it helps you connect with people, and it broadens your mind. Of course there are fanatics and bigots who may be great readers too, so I am not going to make any large claims about reading, but it is essential for any person interested in his or her world.