Thursday, February 9, 2012

“The Obamas Are A Great American Story”

David Remnick, the editor of The New Yorker and author of The Bridge: The Life and Rise of Barack Obama is a restless soul. He claims he never vacations easy and prefers interactions at places such as the Jaipur Literary Festival, which "are a kick in the butt". BW's Anjana Saproo chats up with him on his life as an editor, his favourite Indian writer and a lot more.
 

David Remnick, the editor of The New Yorker and author of The Bridge: The Life and Rise of Barack Obama is a restless soul. He claims he never vacations easy and prefers interactions at places such as the Jaipur Literary Festival, which "are a kick in the butt". BW's Anjana Saproo chats up with him on his life as an editor, his favourite Indian writer and a lot more.
 

How has the Indian experience been for you?
I was invited and I have not been to India since I was 22 years old, and that was not exactly yesterday. I am particularly interested in meeting Indian writers — the ones that I have heard about and also the ones that I have only vaguely heard about. Actually, I can meet the other authors anywhere else — I do not have to come to India to meet them.
 
How do you juggle the role of an editor, journalist and author?
Well, my main job is being the editor of the magazine. Most of the time is taken up by that and my family. I rarely do reporting nowadays. About 6 weeks ago, I went to Moscow, stayed there for about nine days, and wrote a story rather quickly (It is on the web) and it came out at the time the demonstrations were starting. So for me, that is rare, and doing something like coming to a literature fest is even rarer. But for me, this is much more interesting than going on a vacation. I do not vacation easily, I prefer such kind of interactions. I mean I am sitting here and looking at a beautiful parrot behind you. And where else would my conversation be interrupted by a beautiful cow?
 
Why the Obamas?
Because they are a great American story; and I am interested in race. I did a book on the subject before. It is the central drama of American life in many ways. There is nothing contrived about it. You know this is a guy whose name rhymes with the most despised figure in modern American imagination. He is black and came out of nowhere, and went on to become the President of America. That, to my mind, is a good story.
 
Why are the Americans now disillusioned with Obama?
His personal story becomes a lot less interesting once he becomes the President because the stakes get higher. Governance is not about romance and narratives; it is about hard decisions on war and peace, and dollars and cents, and many other things. Hence the disappointment.
 
Who is your favourite Indian writer?
I am rereading Midnight's Children, and it is an astonishing book. It vibrates with life in so many different directions. And just now I was in the bookstore and saw that there were so many books that I had heard of but had not read. If anything, this festival has been a kick in the butt for me as far as my reading is concerned. I mean we all have shelves full of books that we have not read!

You know we publish a fair number of books by Indian writers and immigrant Indian writers, the most famous being, of course, Jhumpa Lahiri. I feel that she was lucky in one other way — 9 times out of ten when a movie gets done based on a novel, the only good thing about it is the money. But I thought that The Namesake was rather well-made.
 
What are your thoughts on e-books?
I care more about the future of reading. If people are reading, they are availing themselves of countless worlds. But if you do not read you do not. If you are reading e-book as opposed to the printed version I do not mind. I know the choice to read an e-book depends a lot on age and interest — and I get the advantages and disadvantages of both. But if you want to read The New Yorker on your iPad or in print, it is to my advantage, I appreciate the platform.



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