Young Adult, commercial fiction, pulp fiction, whatever you want to call it, as long as you have aspirations to pen it, you are hot property for Indian trade, read general, publishers. After leading publishing house Penguin India launched their Metro Reads earlier this year, aimed at the ?metro? reader, HarperCollins India is launching their first three books in the Young Adult category. Others are following suit, including esser known English publishers such as Indialog, Srishi and Gyaana have released books in the genre this year.
?We want our, Indian version of Candace Bushnell,? says V K Karthika, editor-in-chief, Harper Collins India, explaining that young Indians want experiences closer to their own lives. ?Readers want to read about themselves. And writers such as Chetan Bhagat have written about people who are close and plausible.? Nandita Aggarwal, editorial director, Hachette India says the Indian reader is looking for Bollywood style content . As in television, they are looking for characters they can relate to.
It is the math that is attracting the publishers most. While the sales target for an A-line literary fiction is usually about 5,000 copies in India, that is barely the starting point for popular fiction. Harper Collins sold 10,000 copies of Nirupama Subramanian?s Keep the Change in three months of its release in February this year. Gamechangers too sold about 10,000 copies. KP Singh?s Delhi Durbar (Hachette) had an initial print run of 10,000 and has reprinted. Johnny Gone Down made news with a print run of 50,000 earlier this month. Aggarwal says that for Delhi Durbar, the author name was bigger than the title of the book on the front cover, a conscious attempt at author branding. Sales are already considerable, and even Penguin, with an established and extensive literary fiction list, does around 20% of fiction books sales from this category, says Diya Kar Hazra, publishing director.
Retail tends to get excited and sub- scriptions are usually close to the print runs. ?Retail is more excited about print runs when you promote a book with some swagger,? says Aggarwal. ?They tend to order more heftily.? But there remains a gap when global comparisons are made. Author Advaita Kala points out that her book, Almost Single was released by Bantam Dell in the US with a large print run, multiple formats and very aggressive programme in terms of marketing, placement distribution etc. ?The book is available in my college town in America which is really in the boonies so I am impressed. The Bantam Discovery Program under which it was launched is a platform meant for writers of commercial fiction and stays true to the tenets of success in that realm – which is essentially quantity, distribution and placement in book stores. Is there something like that in India, not as yet.?
Is it easier for publishers to find authors? Divya Dubey of Gyaana Books, a recent entrant to Indian publishing, feels a lot of young people are sending are sending scripts and even a young publishing house has a good chance to land good manuscripts. ?Plot and narrative are very important; if the writer?s good with characters and/or dialogue, even better,? says Kar Hazra. ?Earlier good writers did not feel they wanted to venture into commercial fiction,? points out Karthika. ?Today, there are writers such Anuja (Chauhan) or Advaita (Kala) who have the talent to write and are choosing to write popular fiction.?
Popular fiction by Indians has established itself in India. As Karthika says, the challenge will be to stay fresh, do new stuff. The diversity on display this season could well be precursor of many new names waiting in the wings.
India has to still reach the level where the Oprah Book Club or the Romance Writers of America become house- hold entities, but we seem to on our way. A way Indians who steered clear of Vikram Seths and Salman Rushdies and are taking, limiting themselves to the likes of Chetan Bhagat and Advaita Kala. The former?s first novel exposed this latent demand and this year, its been a flood of popular fiction across genres?romance, crime, mythology, mystery, and even grand adventure. Not all are candy floss or chick lit, and the genres are still clearly evolving. A 60-year old detective Mumbai detective in the Miss Marple mould, a chillum smoking Tibetan saviour of Suryavanshis, an assistant librarian turned part Superman, a murder as a game?these are just some of the more colourful characters that are making their presence felt this summer. Challengers to JK Rowling, John Grisham, Agatha Christie and the like, at least some of these authors will go to perhaps be bigger names than their creations. Note the covers. Some already have bigger billing than the titles of the book!
Rating
*****Must read
****Do not miss
***Readable
**Strictly timepass
*Avoid
Text by Garima Pant, Nikhila Gill, Renuka Bisht, Soma Das, Sudipta Datta & Suman Tarafdar; Design by Sadhana Saxena
Johnny Gone Down
Karan Bajaj
HarperCollins
Rs 99, Pp 324
Anatomy
Chetan Bhagat Meets Frederick Forsyth? It?s priced near- abouts the former?s level, but its ambition is definitely global. The story zooms all over the planet, and largely exotic ones at that. Nikhil Arya starts by being the regular MIT graduate, but life really has plans as he imprisoned in Cambodia, escapes and lives as a monk in Thailand, moves to Rio de Janeiro, still as a monk? but goes on be a drug lord, from then to chilly Minnesota as a homeless accountant and then software mogul and then metamorphoses into a deadly game fighter. The story, told in a long flashback, has shades of the final shooting scene from 13 Tzametti.
Meet
Nikhil aka Nick aka Johnny: Also Monk Namche or Coke Buddha. With him around, there is little scope for anyone else.
USPs
Exotic settings entice, but the episodic nature of the story leaves the reader with a sense of displacement. Pacy, if over the top at places.
Pulpmeter:
Piggies on the Railway
Smita Jain
Tranquebar
Rs 295, Pp 402
Anatomy
Whodunnit fans like context. Smita Jain obliges, with evil delicacy. Her murder mystery plays out across the heart and hinterlands of Mumbai, which, as we all know, is a dog-eat-dog world. She still springs surprises, all through the eyes of a heroine who is unbelievably cynical. Why would someone be making charitable donations to Nirmala Nari Niketan? To dodge taxes, obviously. If they are that dodgy, they could be murderers too.
Weaving her way around plenty such dodgy characters, our heroine desperately tries to keep up with a diet. Coping strategies include relapsing into smoking and pouring herself into smaller dress sizes.
Meet
Kasthuri Kumar aka Katie: A former IPS officer whose premature retirement after a Maoist encounter isn?t exactly shrouded in glory.
Kaustav Kapoor: The dazzling head of Blazar Films is Kasthuri?s first client. He looks a bit like Ross from Friends.
USPs
A whacky take on man-woman relationships in Indian metros today. They are riddled with competition with a rough edge. See the nail being driven into old-fashioned courtesies. As you grin like a Grim, judge your Agatha Christie factor by second-guessing the ending.
Pulpmeter:****
Delhi Durbar
Krishan Pratap Singh
Hachette
Rs 195, Pp xiii+291
Anatomy
When a power standoff is between the the Indian president, who is also the ex army chief and the prime minister, head of a coalition whose end is to stay in power, you know the wheeling dealing will be of the highest order, making for a thrilling political thriller. It does, this middle part of a three part series about power struggles at the apex of politics in India. It has no heroes, and rampant ambitions could depress a do-gooder wishing to clean up the system. For a thriller reader however, this is among the best this summer has to offer.
Meet
Jasjit Sidhu: Caught in the middle protagonist, you?ll end liking and disliking him. Lobbyist almost omnipotent.
Paresh Yadav: The coalition PM, likeable only in comparison to his son.
Shitij: Yadav junior?s name seems to be spelt this way on purpose. But behold, he is the one buys the presidentship of BCCI.
Brajesh Dayal: Ex army chief, his record is not above board.
Neena Dayal: Her father?s daughter and ?Jasus? estranged wife, with a mind of her own.
USPs
A rare political thriller that travels inside the insidious corridors of power in India. Also as a marketing tool, it has the ?publisher?s promise? that you can return the book if you do not like the book!
Pulpmeter:****
Buddha?s Orphans
Samrat Upadhyay
Rupa
Rs 295, Pp 460
Anatomy
The narrative travels across the personal journey of four generations in Nepal and explores its interaction with political evolution there. The story centres around an orphan Raja, who was abandoned by his unwedded young mother, who ends her life after she was deserted by her lover. Though Raja was fortunate enough to be showered with love by the three women in his life?his wife and two maternal figures, his craving for his real mother overwhelmed every other aspect in his life. An inexplicable thirst remained central to his existence. This thirst is finally quenched after he sees a reflection of his lost mother in his daughter who completes the cycle by adopting the role of an unwedded mother, by choice.
Meet
Raja: Portrays the youth in Nepal. He directs his aggression political injustice.
Nilu: Deprived of parental love, she values her family and makes Raja, an orphan from the servant class, the subject of unbounded affection.
USPs
Very few writings from this part of the subcontinent make it to the outer world. This is reason compelling enough to have an interesting peep into the collective conscience of the Hindu Kingdom?s societal mores and tumultuous political journey. However, travelling across four generations in 400 pages imparts a striking sense of hurry to the narrative which at times cries out for a patient approach.
Pulpmeter: **
Heart-breaks & Dreams! The Girls @IIT
Parul A Mittal
Srishti
Rs 100, Pp 215
Anatomy
A middle-class girl is pitted against her male counterparts in a battle that is dominated by brain rather than brawn. And it gets even worse as the skewed sex ratio in IIT, makes life difficult from the very first step she takes. In her journey she befriends Puja, Divya and Charu and goes through all the possible highs and lows ?romantic liaison, heartbreaks, friendships, a tryst with the education system. Needless to say, our protagonist emerges as a winner having fulfilled her dream at IIT of becoming an entrepreneur.
Meet
Tanu: She wants to realise her dream of becoming a successful entre preneur, even at the cost of her love.
Champ: The guy who loves challenges and manages to win over Tanu, but fails to win the battle of love.
USPs
A light read that narrates the IIT story from a girl?s perspective.
Pulpmeter:***
?If You Love Someone??
Harimohan Paruvu
Indialog
Rs 195, Pp 234
Anatomy
An intense love story that revolves around Meghna Mathur, an erstwhile successful career women who sacrifices her career, ambitions and her life to make her husband?s business successful. In her search for perfect relationship she is drawn to Aditya, her first love. And its her promise to Meet him again on her 50th birthday that draws her out of her monotonous life and Aditya from the jaws of death.
Meet
Meghna Mathur:A beautiful, intelligent and complex women whose passion for life gets suppressed because of her marriage
Aditya: An intense and enigmatic character, completely in love with Meghna.
Pankaj: Meghna?s husband who is totally dependent on her for all the little things in life, but refuses to give her any credit
USPs
It?s the character of the protagonist that one can easily identify with. And for those that have been on a staple diet of mush, this unconventional love story, the intensity will be rivetting.
Pulpmeter :****
The Monochrome Madonna
Kalpana Swaminathan
Penguin
Rs 250, Pp 256
Anatomy
Lalli is back to her latest case, where a Madonna in monochrome takes centrestage. As it began during Lalli?s annual absence in October, her neice Sita was the one to get the sepulchral if distinctly uttered call??I think I?m going to die.? The call was from Sitara, a recent acquaintance, who has an oversized, recent corpse in her front room.
Amazingly, this seems to a murder more as a game than any with malicious intent. And yet murder it is, and Lalli and Savio have daggers drawn in disagreement over the possible solutions to this seemingly intractable murder.
Meet
Sitara: Victim or vulture. Whichever it is, not an easy character to ignore or forget
Vinay Dasgupta: Her husband, ethereal/diabolical?
Lalli: Woman detectives never have it easy, despite the sharpness and wit.
Savio: Lalli?s alter ego.
Sita: Sherlock?s Watson , updated.
USPs
Among the best written of the commercial fiction genre this summer, it?s engrossing, the characters are interesting and will keep you, the intelligent crime fan, engrossed.
Pulpmeter:****