
There are more newspapers now in Bombay than anyone can possibly read. All report pretty much the same news - and even the features are not spectacularly different. What every publisher must be in search of is a USP so here's an idea : a serialised novel.
Works by Charles Dickens, Henry James, Alexander Dumas, William Thackeray and Thomas Hardy originally made their debut in this manner. As did Flaubert's Madame Bovary.
More recently the San Fransisco Chronicle ran Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin in serialised form. That's what led to 44, Scotland Street actually. After bumping into Maupin at a party author Alexander McCall Smith wrote an article for The Herald about "what a pity it was that newspapers didn't do serial novels any more".
The response from the paper's main rival, The Scotsman, was - "You're on". When McCall Smith suggested that a chapter every week was quite a tall order, the reply was "no, not weekly, daily". The author was so flabbergasted that he agreed.
The daily column that came out of that exchange has now been compiled and published as a book - "44 Scotland Steet". It comprises of 109 short chapters of 850 odd words - as dictated by the need to publish a daily installment.
So it's a little different from novels in general and also McCall's own previous books (if you have not read his No 1 Ladies Detective Agency series - you're really missing something!).
The great thing is that once again the amazing Alexander McCall Smith has created a little world populated with characters that come alive and that you can relate to. They just happen to live in Botswana or Edinburgh - but they represent some very universal human traits.
He reminds you of R K Narayan - although his writing is even better in terms of the wry humour or observations made. For example:
"It was a long narrow room , decorated in the obligatory Danish minimalist style, which meant there was no furniture. She had always thought that Danish minimalism should have been the cheapest style available, because it involved nothing, but in fact it was the most expensive. The empty spaces in Danish minimalism were what cost the money". :)
44 Scotland Street's cast includes, among others:
Pat - a confused young woman taking her second gap year
Bruce - her narcissistic flatmate who applies hairgel that smells of clove and thinks he is God's gift to the world
Irene - a pushy mom who forces her 5 year old son to learn Italian and play the saxophone.
There are Pats, Bruces and Irenes amidst us, here in Mumbai too!
I do hope some newspaper editor and some imaginative writer rise to the challenge and publish a similar series in India. The important thing is that no one with literary pretensions should be allowed near the project!
The idea, after all, is to keep junta hooked to a rivetting story. Not scratching their heads, wondering what the hell the author meant when he wrote his sentences.
Magic realism is all very well but the best kind of magic is realism - deftly and definitively written!
sounds a most delicious idea...
ReplyDeletenow requesting a piece on "how to set up your own mag"
and whatever happened to the genre called the short story ?
ReplyDeletewhy not start there?
actually thats what they should do...
a novel in daily chapters runs the risk of becoming a tv soap in print .... that certainly looks quite ugly
Hoga
well... could you do me a help? could you suggest me a few papers in mumbai where i can send in short stories, poems... and even - why not (no harm in trying, eh?)- novels for publication?
ReplyDeletei've been getting published here and there in my city (that's calcutta), but places are few and places will be even fewer once i pass out of school in a few months from now. and looks like the telegraph has just decided to close down its poetry section. it's more than high time i start looking out of the limits of calcutta... but haven't been able to do much progress...
It comprises of 109 short chapters of 850 odd words
ReplyDeleteOf does not follow comprise. comprises 850 chapters
In the tradition laid down by Dickens and Woolf et al, I am serialising my first novel in three novellas to be published periodically.
ReplyDeleteTher first is to be published very soon, so time will tell if the first part is strong enough to hook an audience.
减速机 齿轮减速机 SEW减速机 摆线针轮减速机 蜗轮蜗杆减速机 interlining
ReplyDelete明星代言 明星经纪公司
制动单元 铝壳电阻
modern abstract art sofa manufacturer
净水器 开水器 净水机 净水 软水机 软水 直饮机 家用净水 家用净水器 家用净水机 中央净水 中央净水器 水家装 水家电 水卫士 混合机
过滤机 DHL快递 俄罗斯签证 回转支承 Laser marking
保险箱 法兰 法兰标准
polycarbonate sheet 回流焊 波峰焊
压球机 注册上海公司 儿童摄影
牛皮癣 皮肤病 制氮机
食堂售餐机 校园一卡通
学校一卡通 ic卡售饭机
食堂售饭机 深圳一卡通
广东售饭机 机电设备安装
北京发票 代开发票
餐饮发票 住宿发票
广告发票
网络电话 免费网络电话
假发 补发
织发 植发
压滤机 板框压滤机
蒸馏水机 纯蒸气发生器
上海搬家公司 上海搬场公司
大众搬家 大众搬场
张家界旅游 香港旅游
深圳旅行社 打包机
收缩机 对讲机 电源模块
血管栓塞剂
售饭机 水控机 水控器
萎缩性胃炎 neoprene laptop bags
SEO优化
SEO优化 计量泵
胃炎 胃病
冷水机 冰水机
工业冷水机
北京特价机票 北京打折计票 北京国际机票
北京机票预定 北京飞机票
北京订机票 北京机票查询 饮料机械
银杏 水培花卉 企业宣传片 空分设备
化工泵 离心机
电话交换机 程控交换机 集团电话 集装袋
混合机 混合机
混合机捏合机 捏合机
捏合机导热油炉 导热油炉
导热油炉 反应釜 反应釜
反应釜 spherical roller bearing
搬运车 搬运车 电动搬运车 油桶搬运车 堆高车 电动堆高车 半电动堆高车 堆垛车
高空作业平台车 电动叉车 平衡重叉车 前移叉车 电瓶叉车
韩国饰品批发 模块电源
X架 超薄灯箱> 易拉宝 展柜制作
代理服务器 游戏加速器 网络加速器
网通加速器 电信加速器 电信网通转换器
电信网通加速器 网通电信互转
网通电信互通 网络游戏加速器
美国VPN代理 美国独享VPN 美国独享IP
pvc ceiling panel Spherical roller bearings
SEO优化
安全鞋 劳保鞋 防砸鞋 电绝缘鞋 上海安全鞋 上海劳保鞋 江苏劳保鞋
服装软件 服装管理软件 进销存软件
进销存管理软件 服装管理系统 服装进销存软件
进销存系统 进销存管理系统 免费进销存软件
吉林中医 东北特产
打包机
阳痿 阴茎短小 阴茎增大
早泄 前列腺炎 阴茎增粗 阴茎延长
国际机票 上海国际机票
国际特价机票 国际打折机票
砂磨机 砂磨机
砂磨机 卧式砂磨机
卧式砂磨机 卧式砂磨机
三辊研磨机 三辊研磨机
三辊研磨机 混合机 混合机
混合机 锥形混合机 锥形混合机 锥形混合机 行星动力混合机 行星动力混合机 行星动力混合机 无重力混合机 无重力混合机 无重力混合机
干粉砂浆设备 干粉砂浆设备
干粉砂浆设备 捏合机 捏合机 捏合机 导热油炉 导热油炉 导热油炉 反应釜 反应釜 反应釜 搪玻璃反应釜 搪玻璃反应釜 搪玻璃反应釜
乳化机 涂料设备 干混砂浆设备 无重力混合机 胶体磨 涂料成套设备 双螺旋混合机
北京婚庆 北京婚庆公司
400电话
办证 呼吸机 制氧机
亚都 亚都加湿器 亚都净化器
亚都装修卫士
饰品批发 小饰品批发 韩国饰品 韩国饰品批发 premature ejaculation penis enlargement
安利产品 马来西亚留学
网站优化 网站推广
衬布
代写论文
代写论文
论文代写 代写论文
磁力泵
离心泵
化工泵
隔膜泵
螺杆泵
潜水泵
油泵
耐腐蚀泵
泵 水泵
拖链 防护罩 排屑机 塑料拖链 钢铝拖链
化工离心泵
计量加油泵
自吸式离心泵
管道油泵
自吸式排污泵
潜水排污泵
自吸式磁力泵
耐高温磁力泵
不锈钢多级离心泵
多级离心泵
耐腐蚀自吸泵
自吸化工泵
玻璃钢液下泵
液下式排污泵
卧式离心清水泵
氟塑料磁力泵
磁力驱动循环泵
耐腐蚀污水泵
卧式化工离心泵
玻璃钢耐酸泵
防爆管道油泵
不锈钢多级泵
立式多级离心泵
塑料磁力泵
水泵厂
手摇油泵
上海水泵厂
上海水泵
离心泵厂家
热水泵
清水泵
气动隔膜泵
深圳装饰 深圳装饰公司 深圳装修公司
特价机票 打折机票 国际机票
机票
新风换气机 换气机 立式新风换气机 风机箱 新风系统 能量回收机
搅拌机 混合机 乳化机
分散机
毛刷 毛刷辊 工业毛刷 刷子 钢丝刷
涂层测厚仪 硬度计
兆欧表 激光测距仪
测振仪 转速表
温湿度计 风速仪
超声波测厚仪
粗糙度仪
噪音计 红外测温仪
万用表
硬度计 万用表
美容院 美容加盟
澳洲留学 澳大利亚留学
什么是法兰
电烤箱
酒店预定 北京酒店预定 北京酒店
离心机
nail equipment nail products nail product nail uv lamp nail uv lamp nail uv lamps uv nail lamp nail brush
nail file nail tool nail tip nail gel curing uv lamps lights
万用表 风速仪
红外测温仪 噪音计
苗木价格 苗木信息 标牌制作 深圳标牌 北京儿童摄影 防静电鞋 淘宝刷信誉
威海凤凰湖 威海海景房 大庆密封件
打标机 淘宝刷信誉 TESOL/TEFL国际英语教师证书 英语教师进修及培训 北京快递公司 北京国际快递
Faint hint of the love of friendship
ReplyDeleteFaint hint of the love of friendship. There is a friend, I think that is a cheap wow gold kind of love and friendship between the feelings between, you will occasionally miss a time to silence him, reminds him, the warm heart, a beautiful, a moving. Sad and worried at the time, you will think of him, you hope that he can in your side, give you comfort and buy wow power leveling understanding to you, and you never talk to him, are you afraid of their own grief that would preclude him from peaceful life.
You will be a song, a color, think of him, think of my wow gold his sincerity, he reminds me of the dedication, his mind had gone through the ups and downs together. With such a friend, you will treasure their lives and love their own lives, because you know I hope you had a good, he would like you to take care of themselves properly, and then to meet, he cheapest wow power leveling would like you to tell him you very happy.
That the concept of secularism, in your mind, because his replica replica rolex presence has become pale and weak, you are only in the depths of the bottom of my heart for this man set up a small space, stick with that quietly happy memories, from the the very beginning you know that you will not have any love, it seems that talk about love on the desecration CHEAP wow power level of this emotion, this can only be a friendship. This is how in the end all about? You want to for many years, but no clue.
You seldom have contacts in this long life, you meet the door may be only a few of the ten thousandth time, but in each other's hearts retain a miss, one asked, even if he went to the ends of the earth, even after many, many years, even BUY power leveling when the meet again, has long been a non-object is not, you still remember back as a profound, and this has been sufficient.
Sometimes life will calm a dry, maybe you will fall into the dry I replica rolex replica did this, perhaps what you do not have love, perhaps early HUAFA, full sideburns pale, but with such a friend, in the your life will ripple slightly, a little color, do you think of him. He remembered the quiet, perhaps the Health and cheap lotro gold the WHO will not forget.
Am grateful for you in this world, there is such a person, he is replica rolex not around you, he did not do anything for you, but you hope that he would have been very good, long life, happiness well-being ... ...
Am glad you had a feeling like that, pure and long, in this complex CHEAPEST power leveling world, there are such a friend, it is worth to cheap rs gold lbless you to miss ... ...
電動按摩棒,飛機杯,視訊,自慰套,自慰套,自慰套,情趣按摩棒,角色扮演,按摩棒,跳蛋,跳蛋,情趣,情趣,角色扮演服,吊帶襪,丁字褲,情趣用品,情趣用品,跳蛋,男女,潤滑液,SM,情趣內衣,內衣,性感內衣,自慰器,充氣娃娃,AV,按摩棒
ReplyDelete