Title: Requiem: Will the Dead Come Back for Love?Author: Rakesh Ranjan
Published: December 2012
Available From: Amazon
Requiem is about love although it doesn’t look so until the latter half of the novel. It is the story of the unfulfilled love of the narrator. It is about Death, Love and Life. There are mistakes that a person makes but love often persists. And when it becomes so integral to your existence, you always tend to go back to it. It may haunt you in a sense but is often the sweetest memory that you carry. Requiem introduces Death as the beginning of a life beyond Life. Despite the vagaries it is associated with, Death can be a fascinating aspect of Life. It then moves to Love and describes how the two persons met and fell in love. And before love surmounts everything, one often loses to lust. Requiem details that journey of love. And when love had made things even, the tragedy of Death strikes. Requiem portrays Death and Love as the two continuous pursuits of man. While one fears the former, they always want the latter. Requiem shows how imagination can be a twisted reality. It shows the conflicts inside a human mind. The novel is written in a simple language and is an attempt to connect with the masses.
Q & A with Rakesh Ranjan
Q: Tell us a little bit about your book, “Requiem: Will the Dead Come Back For love?”
A: Requiem is a love story, though an unconventional one. You won't realise that until you're finished with the first part. The first part, ‘Death’ is about the afterlife experiences of a dead man. The second one, ‘Love’ is a love story, with some usual and some unusual stuff. The third and last part, ‘Life’ provides the true picture of whatever happened earlier and connects the two parts. It is the real story and has an element of surprise. I believe the story is very touching and I will feel sad if some tears don't come to a reader’s eyes.
Q: How would you describe your writing style?
A: I write in a simple, easy-to-connect language. My motive is not to amaze people. I have a story and intend to convey it to people. I do get flowery at times but restrain myself from sounding esoteric. And I write whatever comes to my mind. So the flow is very natural and people can easily connect to it.
Q: What do you see as influences on your writing?
A: I love the works of Ayn Rand and Paulo Coelho. But this book is more influenced by the experiences in my life. I am an avid traveller and have seen almost all of Europe and different places in Asia. I believe my writing comes from my persona and so my writing style may be very different from others. And my family and surroundings have shaped it in a big way.
Q: What was the hardest part of writing Requiem? What was the best?
A: The hardest part was editing. I told you that I wrote it in a flow. And so when it had finished, I had to ensure that everything was right. Luckily, the consistency was there. But editing is always tough. When you have to try to find faults in your own work, it may get taxing. I enjoyed writing it but going through it over and over again to ensure that my best was going out was tough. The best part was writing the emotional parts. I believe that comes naturally to me and I so very much enjoyed writing those parts. And I did cry a lot writing the most emotional part of Requiem. And not only while writing it, but also every time when I went through it. I believe that part is very powerful and will move everyone. It has to be very powerful to affect the creator of the work so much. So the best part of writing Requiem was the emotions I went through while writing it.
Q: Where would you like to see yourself in five years?
A: I would certainly come up with my next. And I would be working somewhere and may have my own business then. I would love to bring smiles and tears to people, the latter not by hurting them but by getting them to realise the importance of the seemingly small elements of our lives.
Q: What kind of promotional efforts have you undertaken to get word of your book out? What do you feel has been the most effective for you so far?
A: I have relied on the word-of-mouth thing and expect people to recommend my book to others if they find it good. I also aim to connect with readers with this blog interview. If my book intrigues them, they may go for it. I have just started but feel that the good reviews I have been getting will lead to more people getting to my work.
Q: What book are you reading now?
A: I am not reading any now. My studies have kept me busy but I do plan to read up on various subjects very soon.
Q: Do you have any hidden talents?
A: My talents are all out in the open, I guess. But yeah, I love to cook and I am a good investor.
About the Author
Rakesh Ranjan is an MBA student at Management Development Institute (MDI), Gurgaon, one of India's best management institutes. He is now spending a term at Edhec Business School, Nice, France. He is an engineer and has worked for two and a half years in Tata Consultancy Services, Kolkata. He has stayed in different parts of India and travelled to places in Asia and Europe. He loves travelling and experiencing cultures. His experiences have helped him write. He is a keen observer of human behaviour. His interests are varied and he tries to find meanings in ordinary things. Surprisingly, he is a finance enthusiast and a writer at the same time. He has wanted to write for a long time. The idea of writing a novel came to him in the first year of engineering. And he decided to do it now, after almost eight years. His poem, "My Love, My Life", was very popular in college. He has blogged a bit before and has also written some articles.
Author Contact Links
Goodreads
r.ranjan1985@gmail.com
Thanks for inviting me. Great interview.
ReplyDelete