Good books are not written anymore. They are marketed. Bad books are not written anymore either. They are marketed too. Bibliophiles never had it so bad in India as they did in the last decade of the twentieth century. Writing and publishing was never the same, as even in the Eighties. It did not matter whether you were a good writer or bad; as long as your publisher was able to market it (read, hype it beyond all limits of fertile imagination), you would have earned your buck - fast and slow. That's where the buck stopped.
The task of compiling lists of tens is always one that is thankless - so, when Jaalmag decided to collate an index of ten most hyped books of the Nineties, there was a minor hitch. No, it was not one about which over-hyped book to include, but which one not to exclude. The best way out was to randomise ten from hundreds.
The first five enlisted below are appropriate examples of over-hyped products from people who can, needless to say, write. Only, that these books were not as great as they were needlessly projected to be. Good language, but over-hyped books. The rest are books by non-writers. Pertinent illustrations of how trash is being peddled as contemporary fiction. Bad language, bad books too.
"The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy
The mother of all over-hyped books. She wrote well, crafted well. But the Booker Prize? Hmmmm.. Now you know what "hype" can do to you. You can become part and parcel of literary folklore.
"A Suitable Boy" by Vikram Seth
Only one suitable question: why did he have to do this? A writer of his stature could well have authored the same story in less than a quarter of the 1300-1400 pages that it came to. Good paperweight value.
"The Blue Bedspread" by Raj Kamal Jha
Good words, uninspiring literature by a successful journalist.
"The Romantics" by Pankaj Mishra
Good words, uninspiring literature by a successful publisher.
"Eminent Historians" by Arun Shourie
Both Shourie and his obnoxiously obscurantist treatise ought to be jettisoned back to the dark ages where they both belong. There was more than just hype about this book, it was unabashed nihilist claptrap.
"Sultry Days" by Shobha De
So, she wanted to shock the country with her heretic cheap shot about this girl falling in love with God? well, well. You will need not look up a lexicon ever again to know what the word "appalling" means.
"Starry Nights" by Shobha De
There she is again! But if only she could even write soft-porn properly. All said and done, you will need not look up a lexicon ever again to know what the word "nugatory" means.
"Selective Memory" by Shobha De
Thank goodness for that! With such momentary lapses of reason, if she churns out 500+ pages of trash… Anyway, you will need not look up a lexicon ever again to know what the word "dross" means.
"Speed Post" by Shobha De
Gosh, not her again! If you read Jawaharlal Nehru's letters to his daughter, then you must read this as well. By the way, you will need not look up a lexicon ever again to know what the word "puerile" means.
"50 and Done" by Tara Deshpande
Will someone please tell this nymphet that playing roles of bimbettes and scrawling books are not the same thing? Her tome is as crappy as the slutty role that she played in that cinematic refuse about Mumbai.
