The first presentation of the JCB Literature Prize is over and the shortlist for the top 5 has been announced. At an intimate conference in a bookshop in Delhi, two members of the jury – writers Arshia Sattar and Vivek Shanbhag along with JCB Literary Director and author Rana Dasgupta.
From entries submitted by 42 publishers, the jury selected five of what they believed to be the best works in terms of diversity of ideas, storytelling, and the book’s ability to compel readers to read to the end and then remember. The shortlisted entries include books by renowned authors such as Perumal Murugan and Anuradha Roy as well as debutante novelists such as Shubhangi Swarup.
Speaking to News18, Rana Dasgupta said this is a great time for Indian literature.
“When we started the award, we were concerned about finding ten books in the long list. But the response has been overwhelming and the jury must have had a very hard time deciding,” Dasgupta, who won the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for his novel. Solo among other accolades, said.
He added that awards such as the JCP have been a great way to showcase Indian writers and explore the rich variety and diversity of literary thought and writing in India. And unlike the prestigious Pulitzer or Man Booker awards, India’s specificity would help bring Indian works to international attention.
The Tokyo cancelled writer said the award was also an attempt to bridge the gap between writers, publishers and retail that currently exists in India. “We wanted Indian writers to have the same name as Bollywood stars or sports personalities in the country. And awards are a great way to give them recognition and wider circulation,” said Dasgupta.
He also added that the shortlist was a great way to shape literary opinion among young Indians who would otherwise derail with various types of “pop” literature that is common today, at least on social media.
“Not that there’s anything wrong with any genre. Books do not compete with each other and in a healthy literary atmosphere all kinds of books can and should exist. An award like this is just a guideline for those who want to look further afield and experiment with new, complex genres,” said Dasgupta.
Judge and author Arshia Sattar also felt that contests like this one were a great way to increase the entry of writers from marginalized minority communities.
“Winning an award or being shortlisted gets the names of these authors in the papers, with the readership. Sometimes, as in the case of Benyami’s book, a translation works wonders in terms of increasing circulation,” Sattar said. She added that what was interesting was the variety of themes explored by shortlisted writers.
“Each of the books is different from each other and deals with distinctly separate matters that are nevertheless binding. The diversity in text comes from the diversity in the writers themselves,” Sattar said.
Speaking to News18, Kannada writer and playwright Vivek Shanbhag said a tension of resistance and assertiveness was common in all of the shortlisted books. In fact, the author of the famous and delightful Gachar Gochar said the assertive tension permeated all works submitted, excluding gender and other status of the writers. Shanbhag shied away from naming a favorite, insisting that all the novels shortlisted were noteworthy.
The winning novel will be announced on October 24. Until then, here’s a quick look at the shortlist:
Half the night is over
The first book on the shortlist is “Half the Night is Gone” by Amitabha Bagchi, whose first novel Above Average became a bestseller on publication in 2007. His second novel The Householder also received critical acclaim in 2013, while his third novel These Places was shortlisted for the Dublin IMPAC Literary Prize 2015. His fourth book, which is shortlisted for the first-ever JCP Award. It examines the inner and outer lives of the men in two families, a rich and a poor and working class. The book explores class dynamics within friendship and human relationships and offers an illuminating look at Indian masculinity, according to the jury.
Jasmine Days
Jasmine Days is one of two translated works on the shortlist. It was written by the eminent novelist Benyamin, who has more than twenty books to his credit, and translated from the original Malayali by Shahnaz Habib, who teaches writing at an American university and consults for the United Nations. The book follows the lives of guest workers in an unnamed Middle Eastern city during the Arab Spring of 2011. The author, who lived in Bahrain for a number of years before taking up writing full-time, has undoubtedly drawn from his own rich experiences. . The main character is Sameera Parvin, who in the course of the events of the book is forced to answer various questions about choice, love, loyalty and morality. The book was praised by the jury as a complex look at some of the burning questions of our time.
poonachi
The second shortlisted translation work is Poonachi, a novel written by renowned Tamil author Perumal Murugan and translated by N Kalyan Raman. Murugan’s latest book breaks with his usual style of realistic characters and storytelling and tackles the story from the perspective of a black goat. However, the novel, which at first glance reads like a delightful joke, soon turns out to be a deep and tantalizing political satire. The jury said that readers of this work should expect mastery and extraordinary humor.
All the lives we never lived
Anuradha Roy is one of the two female writers to be shortlisted aside from Shahnaz Habib. Her book All the Lives We Never Lived follows the life of a woman who chooses to define her individual identity over her husband, family and even her country. A story of struggle and passion, it looks hard from the perspective of the protagonists’ son at the contradictory roles that women can assume, such as that of wife, mother and self. The award-winning author is known for her short stories and her four novels, each of which has been critically acclaimed.
Latitudes of desire
Last on the list is the debut novel by journalist and filmmaker Shubhangi Swarup. Latitudes of Longing has already started creating a buzz in local literary scenes as a debut to watch out for and author and judges described it as a breath of fresh air. Blending reality with a touch of magic and supernatural, the novel takes readers on a journey through the interior of India. It digs deep and poses a number of important questions about the relationship and contradictions between humans and the environment. On another level, it is also a story of discovering fault lines and fissures that exist in humans, just as they do in the rocks that scatter the earth.