Murdoch University
The Krishna Somers Foundation presents the year’s fourth talk. The talk will be given by
Dr Kunal Basu,
published writer, scholar and academic (Oxford University) and currently Visiting Professor at Curtin University.
When: Wednesday March 21 11.30 PM
Where: Education and Humanities 2.21
Title: The writer and his world(s)
Publications
Novels
1. The Opium Clerk
Hardback edition published by Weidenfeld & Nicholson (Orion Publishing Group; UK); 2001
First paperback edition published by Phoenix (Orion Publishing Group;
UK); 2002
Second Paperback edition by published by Phoenix (Orion Publishing
Group); 2004
Third Paperback edition to be published by Phoenix (Orion Publishing
Group); 2007
South Asian edition published by Penguin; 2001
Synopsis:
Hiran is born in 1857: the year of Mutiny and the year his father dies. Brought to Calcutta by his widowed mother he turns out to have few talents, apart from an uncanny ability to read a man’s lies in his palm. When luck gets him a job at the auction house, Hiran finds himself embroiled in a mysterious trade, and even more deeply embroiled in the affairs of his nefarious superior, the infamous Mr Jonathan Crabbe and his opium addicted wife. An unlikely hero, Hiran is caught up in rebellion and war, buffeted by storms at sea, by love and intrigue, innocently implicated in fraud and dark dealings.
Selected Quotes:
“A first novel of rare assurance, imaginatively set and richly textured with tales that spin away into elliptical orbits. Basu’s evocative descriptions conjure the magic and heartbreak of the East… It is a phantasmagoric world, rich in stories, visions and dreams, not unlike those inspired by the heinous drug itself.” Times Literary Supplement
“Basu has found a fresh angle…The blend of personal discovery and political revolt is handled with authority.” Independent on Sunday
“The Opium Clerk is packed with historical information and is imaginatively written.” Daily Telegraph
“At a historical level, the novel occurs along the trail of opium. At a personal level it happens in the lives of many people in many lands…spiritually the novel happens at the level of desire, in all its multifarious manifestations.” Oxford Times
“Part history, part allegory, The Opium Clerk is also something of a 19th century romance populated by pirates, beautiful maidens, wild sailors and seers. Basu’s book is the first by an Indian author to take place, even partially, in China.” The Reporter (Canada)
“For a first fiction writer, the writer shows great ambition and a wildering imagination.” Irish Independent
“Basu spins a complex, captivating tale, weaving in dreams and visions in a manner reminiscent of Gabriel Garcia Marquez or Salman Rushdie. The historical backdrop is dazzlingly evoked. So let go of your linear outlook and get swept away.” Ivenus, Ireland
“In the Opium Clerk, Basu has bravely explored virgin ground. The novel leads us through a labyrinth of mysteries and perplexities, which was indeed the once thriving colonial underworld.” The Times of India
“Just one whiff is enough. You don’t have to be an opium addict to savour the slow burning languor of the sticky-sweet saga of the opium trade that Kunal Basu places before you. There is nothing timid about Basu’s intentions. He has opium in his blood.” India Today Magazine
“Basu has a gift for conjuring up scenes.” South China Morning Post
“The feeling of a long dream – nightbound, subterranean, images rising to the surface to be caught by the sun. The sound of voices – distant then near. The sound of one voice, in its own key, singing the dream into daylight. This is Kunal Basu. Listen to him.” Jeanette Winterson
2. The Miniaturist
Hardback edition published by Weidenfeld & Nicholson (Orion Publishing Group; UK); 2003
First paperback edition published by Phoenix (Orion Publishing Group); 2004
Second paperback edition to be published by Phoenix (Orion Publishing Group); 2007
South Asian edition published by Penguin; 2003
Turkish edition published by Literatür Yayinlari; 2006
Synopsis:
In the sumptuous court of the emperor Akbar, in 16th century India, a group of artists begins the painstaking task of chronicling the emperor’s life. Bihzad is the son of the chief artist and as such, he is groomed to follow in his father’s footsteps. A child prodigy, Bihzad is shielded from life as he grows up in the stunning fortress town of Agra. But as word of his talent spreads, rumours about the wild, passionate nature of his secret drawings bring his enemies out into the open. When the young artist breaches the rules of the court, they will use his art to destroy him.
Selected Quotes:
“A tale of immense originality and intrigue…The Miniaturist is every bit as perfect and detailed as a Mughal painting should be.” Observer
“The Miniaturist shows Basu to be a master of his craft…his novel is a cut-glass superstructure, as sumptuous as the imperial pleasure domes that he describes, and crafted with the miniaturist’s wizardry.” Independent on Sunday
“Refreshingly modern in its minimalism, but also gorgeous with period colour and detail.” Guardian
“There are many wonderful sequences in this novel. Basu has a wide and sympathetic mind that enlivens historical research. His prose is light and fragrant, creating a vivid India.” Times Literary Supplement
“The Miniaturist is an excellent counterpoint to Basu’s well-received first novel, The Opium Clerk. By writing about the distant past, he has managed, paradoxically, to say something new….this novel deserves a careful perusal. Basu’s every word is carefully chosen, and his every image resonates with meaning.” Far Eastern Economic Review
“Rich and imaginative. It’s like strolling through an art gallery for sheer visual power.” Elle
“A lush, beautifully written book.” Sunday Tribune (Dublin)
“This novel is a delicious 16th century blend of Mongols, Turks, Persians, Afghans, Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Sufis, wine, opium, friendship, lust and love…A heady brew, definitely worth the calories.” India Today
“The Miniaturist is a little gem, confirming author Kunal Basu’s reputation as a great storyteller, a creator of mood…The Miniaturist must be read. And read again.” The Statesman (India)
“The Miniaturist could easily have been a gaudy period piece, an opulent but synthetic fakery. Few writers can freight their books with a brutal emperor, rampaging elephants, art, perfume and patronage and come up with anything more. Basu has…with his first novel, The Opium Clerk and now this, Kunal Basu has proved himself one of the most skilled practitioners of historical fiction writing today.” Hindustan Times
3. Racists
Hardback edition published by Weidenfeld & Nicholson (Orion Publishing Group; UK): January 2006
First paperback edition to be published by Phoenix (Orion Publishing Group); 2007
South Asian edition published by Penguin; 2006
Synopsis:
1855: on a deserted island off the coast of Africa, the most audacious experiment ever envisaged is about to begin. To settle an argument that has raged inconclusively for decades, two scientists dream up an elaborate experiment. A pair of infants, one black, one white, are to be raised on a barren island, exposed to the dangers all around them, tended only by a young nurse whose muteness renders her incapable of influencing them in any way, for good or for bad. They will grow up without speech, without civilization, without punishment or play. In this primitive environment, the children will develop as their primitive natures dictate. The question is: what will be left when the twelve years of the experiment are over? Which child will be master, and which the slave? For surely one will triumph over the other. Or will they all, children and scientists alike, reap the fruits of breaking the taboo, as they discover love and loneliness on the wild but beautiful island of Arlinda.
Selected Quotes:
“Taut, elegant and intelligent…one of the most interesting novels so far to chart the history of European racism.” Guardian
“Basu’s tale is an entertaining hybrid, part intellectual thriller, part boy’s own adventure, part romance at the heart of darkness.” Independent
“A tender, tremulous love story, in which decency and kindness prevail, just, over the nostrums of the scientists…The African setting, by turns achingly beautiful and tinged with a sense of menace, is very well done; while the two small children, incapable of human speech, but blessed with low animal cunning, come poignantly alive. They are an eloquent embodiment of humanity stripped to its bare essentials.” Telegraph
“Highly impressive.” Daily Mail
“The novel aims not simply to delight, but to tell untold tales with a large dose of imagination.” Observer
“An intriguing novel.” Scotland on Sunday
“Racists is an idea-novel that uses the historical narrative to send the reader on a shuddering yet sympathetic journey into that dark continent of human dogmas.” Hindustan Times
“Basu’s immensely moving work, just like his earlier ones, takes you on a journey that is entertaining and fulfilling.” Sunday Tribune
Short Stories
- Lenin’s Café
Published in London Magazine; Volume 37/ Numbers 5&6; September 1997
- The Master
Published in the Times of India presentation: Issue 2, 2003
Screen Play
- The Snakecharmer; 2005
- The Magic Loom; 1997
- Football; 1980
Poetry
Published in Riverrun, Parnassus, Autumn Collection
Excerpts
- Racists in Asia Literary Review; Volume 1/ Spring 2006
- The Miniaturist in The Statesman; Autumn 2002
- The Opium Clerk in The Telegraph; Autumn 2001
Commentary
Volume of critical analysis and essays on The Opium Clerk and The Miniaturist, titled Romancing the Strange: The Fiction of Kunal Basu (editors: S. Dhar, A. Roy, A. Nanda and D. Bandopadhyay) published by Avantgarde Press, Calcutta, 2004, on behalf of the Shakespeare Society of India.
Readings at Literary Festivals (attended and forthcoming)
- The Edinburgh Book Festival; August 2006
- The Ubud Readers and Writers Festival; September 2006
- The Sunday Times Oxford Literary Festival; March 2006
- The Man Hong Kong Literary Festival; March 2006
- The Shanghai Literary Festival; March 2006
- The Sunday Times Oxford Literary Festival; March 2003
- The Montreal Literary Festival; November 2003
Special Lectures
1. The 3rd Annual Peter Ustinov Memorial Lecture, University of Durham; May
2006 (titled: “Race and Science: Solving the Puzzle of Human Variation”)
2. The Shakespeare Society of India special seminar on the fiction of Kunal
Basu; Calcutta, 2003
Fellowships held
International Visiting Artist/Scholar Program at the University of Georgia’s Centre for Humanities and Arts; Autumn 2004
(involved several public lectures; media events; and student discussions)
Book readings and talks delivered at:
The Nehru Centre, London; Waterstones bookshop, Oxford; Blackwells bookshop, Oxford; Borders bookshop, Atlanta; Coca Cola Centre for Marketing Studies, University of Georgia, Athens; The British Council, New Delhi and Calcutta; Seagull bookshop, Calcutta; Oxford bookshop, Calcutta; Asia Pacific University, Singapore; Jadavpur University, Calcutta
Media
Over 50 interviews published in newspapers/magazines, worldwide
Twelve TV and radio interviews including the BBC, Channel 3, National Public Radio (USA), Literati (PBS), All India Radio.
Written lead articles for: The Times Higher Education Supplement; Sunday Herald; Telegraph, The Statesman; Tehelka; The Times of India
