man whose instinctive response in the face of anything unpredictable is to run in the opposite direction. Therefore, with Derangements, my initial cue was to write about a very different kind of protagonist - one whose response to any of life’s surprises or challenges is to say “bring it on”. I wanted to explore where this instinct came from and where it might lead him. To add more layers to his character, and to play with the idea, I decided to make him a famous writer.

Mystery being one of my favourite genres, I modelled Derangements along these lines. I hope that those who read the novel, enjoy it on this primary level. There is a murdered journalist, a writer who has disappeared, and the strange story-within-a-story of a serial killer. What connection could there be between them? However, once readers have finished reading the book, I hope it would also be clear that another of its principal themes is exploring the nature of the relationship between a writer and his work.

Derangements is made up of three parts. Book One has the writer, Raj, speaking in his own voice. Raj’s latest novel comes in focus in Book Two. The third part that comes as an epilogue is actually in the voice of Raj’s ex-wife, Ana, who questions and challenges some of the things he said earlier. I would like the reader to think about the relationship between these parts – for instance, to look at Raj the writer’s rendering of his life and then to notice how similar events are altered and turned into fiction. This would throw light on the techniques adopted by a writer in turning events from real life into fiction.

The other aspect of a writer's life that I wanted to explore is the effect such narrative alteration of actual events might have on people close to him. Do they feel misrepresented by his account? To this end Raj’s ex-wife speaks, challenging some of the things he says.

Some readers have asked me whether I intended any autobiographical inference to be drawn, in naming the protagonist Raj Chakraborti. I was fishing around for a good name for that character, and then just decided to use Raj until I came up with something better. Strangely enough, this allowed me to get into his skin, and see the world through his eyes. Although I enjoyed highlighting different shades my personality, it is essentially a fictional character.

For me, the most exciting phase of the creative process is the journey I make from glimpsing the faintest possibility of a story in some event, overheard anecdote or observed person, and then gradually allowing it to brew and strengthen in my mind like a tea bag in a pot. If they have remained vivid and evocative enough days or weeks later, I sit at my computer to try and transcribe as clearly as possible the sequence of situations I see in my head.

Writing Derangements confirmed for me how much I enjoy a particular mode of story-telling, full of vivid yet mysterious images that will hopefully enchant and entertain the reader, while adapting elements from different genres that I love (adventure, mystery, horror, noir). The work that I have done since, continues in the same vein even when it is about different characters.

If I had to think of three favourite books that might also have some relation to the writing of Derangements, they would probably be Amerika by Franz Kafka, Haruki Murakami’s The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, and Mr. Vertigo by Paul Auster. Without suggesting any comparisons, I would say that the narrative style of these books inspired me to tell stories in my own way.

I owe a great deal to my editor, V. K. Karthika, as well as to my agent, Renuka Chatterjee of Osian, for their invaluable feedback throughout the editing process, as also for their friendship and support. In this regard I would also like to express my gratitude to the design team at HarperCollins for the wonderful cover, layout and look of the book.

Share your views with the author, Rajorshi Chakraborti. Click here to write to him.




Click here to view For My Readers Archive.




Oxfordbookstore.com is pleased to invite authors for the new section, For My Readers. If you would like to write about your new book, mail us. We will get in touch with you shortly.

Designed by Subhadip Mukherjee