tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post1184446995433102956..comments2024-03-27T14:57:37.031+05:30Comments on Jabberwock: A conversation with Manil SuriJabberwockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-9045176570145482852008-02-17T12:24:00.000+05:302008-02-17T12:24:00.000+05:30Space Bar: it isn't just you. Most people I know d...Space Bar: it isn't just you. Most people I know disliked <I>The Age of Shiva</I> strongly and I've had to do my familiar defensive eye-roll when asked the perplexing and meaningless question "How could you like <I>that</I> book?" (while simultaneously reminding people never to read/watch anything just because I've written good things about it). Maybe it's just me!Jabberwockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-88260337313355088942008-02-17T11:45:00.000+05:302008-02-17T11:45:00.000+05:30I have to say, I read Manil Suri only a couple of ...I have to say, I read Manil Suri only a couple of weeks ago. I thought I should read Death of Vishnu before this one.<BR/><BR/>I was underwhelmed. It was a very pedestrian book and I no longer have any very high hopes of this new one. So though it's interesting to see othr favourite authors thrown up in this discussion - Levi and Holub being my personal favourites - Suri doesn't even come near.<BR/><BR/>But that's just me.Space Barhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08251329008160756254noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-933536025996120992008-02-17T10:30:00.000+05:302008-02-17T10:30:00.000+05:30Alok, those are very good examples; two others are...Alok, those are very good examples; two others are the poets Miroslav Holub and Nicanor Parra. And in a more contemporary context, there's the Argentinian mathematician and writer Guillermo Martinez, whose writing, like Suri's, fits the picture of what one would expect from someone with a mathematican background.<BR/><BR/>I agree with one half of your comment: technical knowledge can certainly inform writing in an interesting way, in terms of both subject and style. This is a reflection of the universality of writing - it embraces all modes of human experience. In this respect, there is an asymmetry between writing and mathematics. Mathematics is entirely concerned with itself, and these concerns stand alone, insulated from the outside world. Certainly an engagement with other modes of being might make a mathematician a more interesting <I>person</I>, but it will almost surely have no positive effect on the quality of his mathematical work. The <I>idea</I> of a "humane mathematician" is an intriguing one, but I cannot imagine what it would mean in practice.<BR/><BR/>There is a much stronger correlation between music and mathematics; too many people are good at both for it to be merely a coincidence. Maybe this is an indication of similarities to the "patterns" that occur in the two fields, but I wouldn't know - I'm tone-deaf.Cheshire Cathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07463645065346922684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-12936265658581999122008-02-17T08:56:00.000+05:302008-02-17T08:56:00.000+05:30cat: Primo Levi and J M Coetzee also come to mind....cat: Primo Levi and J M Coetzee also come to mind. Both come from technical and mathematical background and both bring a rationalistic and analytic sensibility to creative writing too. <BR/><BR/>About mathematics You will obviously know better :) I probably should have phrased my comment better. I felt what he said just reinforced the conventional notion that these two faculties are entirely separate and have nothing to do with or say to each other... to the extent that one has to shut down one to work with the other. One may not become a better mathematician but one will definitely become a more "humane" (sort of unalienated) mathematician. It is true not just for the professionals, I think it is true for all us. in fact it is one of thesis of Musil's The Man Without Qualities.. that a fusion of these two sensibilities will lead to a more authentic existence.Alokhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12947383354732747209noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-49647915171356790302008-02-16T01:50:00.000+05:302008-02-16T01:50:00.000+05:30"Someone with a mathematician's sensibility explor..."Someone with a mathematician's sensibility exploring dark hidden corners of the subconscious and the affairs of the heart would make a much more interesting, at least more unconventional, writer and conversely a much better mathematician."<BR/><BR/>The "much better mathematician" part is exceedingly unlikely, but there is something to be said about making for a more interesting writer. The fiction of Lewis Carroll, the criticism of William Empson and the poetry of Paul Valery could be used to argue <I>something</I>, but I'm not sure exactly what... You might enjoy Scott Buchanan's book, "Poetry and Mathematics".Cheshire Cathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07463645065346922684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-21671324263043894572008-02-14T18:09:00.000+05:302008-02-14T18:09:00.000+05:30I dunno but the interview is somehow disappointing...I dunno but the interview is somehow disappointing. I'm reminded of Rushdie's <I>It is always a disappointment to meet a writer.</I>Abhinav Mauryahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02244238556311290748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-69150757164737933862008-02-14T09:56:00.000+05:302008-02-14T09:56:00.000+05:30Alok: interesting question, yes, but it might have...Alok: interesting question, yes, but it might have been too highbrow for a 20-minute session at a glossy cocktails-and-canapes book launch where most people were waiting for drinks to be served. At these events people tend to glance at their Cartier watches and readjust their chiffons when a phrase like "dark hidden corners of the subconscious" is used!<BR/><BR/>Regardless of what Suri himself says about compartmentalizing, there must be a subconscious (or unconscious) process that connects the two selves and allows them to feed off each other. Though I know many people who find his books trite and precious, I think he's an interesting, unconventional writer who provides new perspectives on a lot of things in our society we take for granted. Don't know about his Math, of course.<BR/><BR/>ArSENik: No, I wasn't expecting him to hint at his sexual orientation - I think most serious writers manage to avoid simplistic pop psychology of that sort. (I'm not saying there can't be a connection between being gay and having empathy for the woman's position, just that most authors wouldn't be comfortable "explaining themselves" in such cause-and-effect terms.)<BR/><BR/>Ted Danson - really? I thought Danson had a squarer face. But just saw his recent Wikipedia pic - yes, there is a resemblance from the side.Jabberwockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-73099142273503504332008-02-14T02:19:00.000+05:302008-02-14T02:19:00.000+05:30I don't know if this sounds a little crude, but I ...I don't know if this sounds a little crude, but I am curious. Were you expecting him to hint at his sexual orientation when you asked him about the female experiences?<BR/><BR/>PS: He looks like a body double of Ted Danson!ArSENikhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09772597502937491090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-17653519452406729662008-02-14T00:23:00.000+05:302008-02-14T00:23:00.000+05:30One interesting question would have been as to why...One interesting question would have been as to why does he feel that he needs to compartmentalize the two selves - that of a mathematician and a creative writer. Someone with a mathematician's sensibility exploring dark hidden corners of the subconsious and the affairs of the heart would make a much more interesting, at least much more unconventional, writer and conversely a much bettern mathematician. There haven't been many but the example of Robert Musil makes me wish there were more like him.Alokhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12947383354732747209noreply@blogger.com