The Briefing
The God of Small Things
The Briefing
The Briefing
This is your first piece of published fiction since The God of Small Things; and you are also writing your second book. How hard or easy is it to write fiction after a gap of over a decade?
How do the two kinds of writing-fiction and non-fiction-challenge you, as a writer, in different ways?
Has this long period of writing non-fiction changed or shaped the way you approach fiction?
When did you start working on this story? How long did it take to write it? Did you make several drafts? Did you write it in a concentrated stretch, or work on it in fits and starts? Did you discuss it with other people, or was it a solitary task?
What made you respond to the enigma of a fortress that has never been attacked with a fable in which capitalism appears to be the central character?
What is your second book about? Is it as influenced by the issues you have taken up in your activist writing as this short story appears to be? When is it likely to be completed?
In an interview with Outlook after The God of Small Things, you said that being published was "terrifyingly public". Is publishing fiction after 11 years "terrifying"? Do you feel intimidated by the weight of expectations generated by the success of your first book? Is there a fear of failure?
