In a tongue-in-cheek sting operation by the Times of London, major publishers recently rejected two Booker-winning manuscripts submitted anew, one by Sir Naipaul. It shows publishers are terrible judges of talent… or does it?
Publishers and agents have rejected two Booker prize-winning novels submitted as works by aspiring authors. One of the books considered unworthy by the publishing industry was by V S Naipaul, one of BritainÂ’s greatest living writers, who won the Nobel prize for literature…
Typed manuscripts of the opening chapters of NaipaulÂ’s In a Free State and a second novel, Holiday, by Stanley Middleton, were sent to 20 publishers and agents.
None appears to have recognised them as Booker prizewinners from the 1970s that were lauded as British novel writing at its best. Of the 21 replies, all but one were rejections. [Link]
Naipaul even got the dreaded cold shoulder by form letter:
“We . . . thought it was quite original. In the end though I’m afraid we just weren’t quite enthusiastic enough to be able to offer to take things further.” [Link]
Naipaul got in his usually cranky licks against the critics, but in this case he earned it:
“To see that something is well written and appetisingly written takes a lot of talent and there is not a great deal of that around. With all the other forms of entertainment today there are very few people around who would understand what a good paragraph is.” [Link]
Naipaul is a very good writer, but these stories would seem dated and anachronistic if they were written and/or published today.
The first story in Naipaul’s book, “One out of many,” is about a cook in Bombay who accompanies his employer to the U.S., not knowing what his life would be like. He eventually becomes a success, working at an Indian restaurant. And the third story “Tell me who to kill” has a kind of ugly homophobic vibe that I think would turn off many readers today (though I’m not sure from the article whether they used the third story or not).
The writing is brilliantly crafted, but the stories (I hope you’ll agree) are not exactly thrilling material in this era of stories about gang wars in Bombay (i.e., Vikram Chandra’s upcoming book Sacred Games).
Of course, while I don’t think this particular experiment tells us very much, their basic premise about the shallowness of the literary publishing world today still holds. The fact that they didn’t even recognize the stories speaks volumes.
I agree, the stories feel very dated. Various desi literati (cough…AJP) have expressed the same sentiments about other “ode skoo” SA authors (like Bharati Mukherjee, who I still happen to love, and not just because she recognized me once) (ok, maybe because she recognized me once), but I think Naipul exemplifies “writing about stuff people just don’t care about anymore.”
I wonder if politically he’s a Whig or a Tory.
Trying to “measure” and come up with an accurate metric for literary work is impossible. That is the reason, I dont give a damn about, awards. Why is Shakespere (whatever the fuck is the real spelling) supposed to be better than, P L Deshpande?
Since there cant be a metric, agreed upon by everyone, there cant be a scientific judgement made on literary work. Then it just remains to be who you know, and what can you sell. May be I am biased because of my poor writing skills 🙂
Amardeep, I actually think “One out of many” is one of the most memorable pieces he ever wrote.
I wonder if politically he’s a Whig or a Tory.
I don’t know, but he supports the BJP and the Hindu Nationalist position in India.
No wonder…if God of Small Things can win that…
Finally, In A Free State got what it deserved. Never liked the book a lot, even though the writing can be brilliant at times. Actually, I’d like to think it was all done very deliberately: they read the book, recognized the stories, and decided to give Sir Grumpy the cold shoulder.
I haven’t read the book, so thanks for the comments. If snark were the sole component of talent, some of you could give Señor Naipaul a run for his money 🙂
….supposed to be better than, P L Deshpande? Agreed. ‘Batatyachi Chawl’ kicks everyone’s behind left/right/center. In the same vein, Babban Khan’s “Adrak ke Panje“(literally translated: ginger’s claws) was one of the awesomemost pieces I’d heard on casettes as a kid even tho I was too small to understand most of his jokes. I never got around to attend his live shows..infact I just notice that he’s bringing the curtains down on it. Any idea where I can get CDs/casettes of the same?
SOS…Help !!
Maybe he should learn from Preethi Nair
This is not all that astonishing. Slushpiles are an uphill battle, no matter who the author is. The editor is dreading the task, and so is not of an open mind. The “great” work of liturature is surrounded by the dregs of the industry. The book is more than likely just skimmed, if not merely glanced at… and probably by an novice assistant junior intern editor. It comes as no surprise to me, nor should it be to anyone, that these books were rejected.