Twenty-six writers. Twenty-six famous writers, including the likes of Jeffery Deaver and Alexander McCall Smith. One novel. Not one novel each by 26 of them, but ‘just’ one novel co-authored by all of them. Titled No Rest for the Dead, the book is being hyped as a first in the history of publishing.
The list of writers, with many other major names like Raymond Khoury, RL Stine, Faye Kellerman and Tess Gerritsen, has enough to intrigue the average buyer-reader of crime thrillers. How can it not? Someone like Deaver, for instance, has been selling millions of copies of his bestselling books, which also includes the latest James Bond novel. Others aren’t lesser performers either, heightening the curiosity quotient manifold.
The novel is the story of a detective named Jon Nunn, who carries in his mind, the memories of a case he thought he had solved a decade ago. Nunn is finally convinced that Rosemary Thomas, a woman put to death for murdering her husband, was innocent. By the time he reaches that stage of thought, Rosemary has been executed. Her memorial service is about to take place. The names of the suspects are on the list of guests, and Nunn knows that the venue of the service is where he must crack the case.
For the better-than-average reader, the most important concern is the most obvious one. Everybody is keen to know how as many as 26 writers, no matter how gifted, managed to write one single novel with a detective as the strong central character. How did they manage to create one uniform style? How did the characters speak in the same sort of language in each and every chapter? Did their voices change, or get altered at least partially? Once given the outline of their respective responsibilities, how did they suppress their imagination in order to adhere to a pre-decided structure?
The plot, if managed well, can be a masterpiece. It takes just a few lines of the synopsis to figure out that the potential is very much there. But, why did 26 writers need to write it? Wouldn’t a Deaver or a Kellerman been enough? The answer should be ‘yes’. But then, this is a big publishing stunt that seeks to capitalise on the combined fan following of 26 writers.
The biggest creative issue is something no writer worth his salt or sugar, or whatever, likes to experience. When the outline of a plot is already there, and so many writers work on their respective portions, the suppression of authorial individuality is inevitable. All the chapters need to sound the same. So, taming one’s creative voice is a must. No writer can be at his/her best when s/he tries to be someone else. Here, that someone else is the style of writing that must have been developed after a lot of deliberation and analysis. Sticking to that formula-based approach might be a challenge. It indeed is. But it is not a necessity, given the fact that each of these writers fly through different zones of style with perfect ease.
No Rest for the Dead might redefine the figure of sales in publishing. It might give huge royalties. But it would not satisfy any writer, who seeks to hear his/her own voice in the pages of the book
The pig is the most shameless animal on the face of the earth. It is the only animal that invites its friends to have sex with its mate. In America, most people consume pork. Many times after dance parties, they have swapping of wives; i.e. many say “you sleep with my wife and I will sleep with your wife.” If you eat pigs then you behave like pigs. We Indians look upon America to be very advanced and sophisticated. Whatever they do, we follow after a few years. According to an article in Island magazine, this practice of swapping wives has become common in the affluent circles of Bombay
I do not know where you got your PhD? Did you really come to KL since Wednesday to do research on the development of Bersih rally? And did you really walk among the protestors when you did your so called “Bersih Rally” research that warrants you to say that there are almost no Chinese protestors? A person who holds a PhD like you can’t even do a proper research yet you claim this and that are results. Oh my God. . ., this Doctorate in Political Science person cannot even tell the truth and is trying to lie in his research!
Dr Sivamurugan Pandiakutty. . ., we are now in the Youtube, facebook and tweeter era. Gone are the era when all the one-sided news are fed by the UMNO regime spin media. What had happened this afternoon was instantly downloaded in the internet for the world over to see. And what they saw is totally different from your so called research “ Bersih research result”! You seems to have a penchant for lying. . ., but not really good at it. Tell me did you also cheat the result of your PhD research too?
Dr Sivamurugan Pandiakutty. . ., let me tell you this; I have always despised lying sons of bitches in our higher learning institutions. It scares me thinking that those lying sons of bitches are the people who are going to educate our children. For the Malay lying sons of bitches in the ivory tower, I’ll tell them “lagi baik balik kampong tanam kangkong”, because they are what we call as “professor kangkong”, a spineless vegetable unable to tell the truth. For a lying Indian like you, I’ll say, “lagi baik balik estet tangkap biawak”, because you have a forked tongue like a monitor lizard!
And please, we were marching in the rain under volleys of tear gas but hand in hand together with Chinese, Indians, Malays. . ., all races, all skin colors and all religious faith.
(Bernama) KUALA LUMPUR: The illegal street demonstration planned in the city today by outlawed group ‘Bersih 2.0′ led by Datuk S. Ambiga failed to garner support from the people as only some 10,000 people turned up for it instead of the 100,000 people the group had targetted.
According to political analyst Dr Sivamurugan Pandian, the lack of support could have been due to the people realising that the group was not sincere in is stated objective of calling for electoral reform but instead the illegal assembly was more politically motivated.
He said besides this, careful preparation by the police in facing the illegal assembly also prevented any untowards incidents from happening.
“If it was really the case (Bersih 2.0 championing electoral reform), more people would have backed the group. However, it was the opposite. This was markedly different fron the “reformasi” illegal street demonstrations of 1998 and the Hindraf and Bersih rallies in 2007 which received widespread support,”
he said when contacted by Bernama.
he said when contacted by Bernama.
The Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) political science lecturer from Penang, who has been in the federal capital since Wednesday to follow developments and see for himself how the rally would turn out, said the failure of the illegal assembly was also very much due to the police’s strategic actions to “check the group”.
He also said the strategy adopted by Bersih 2.0 to move in small groups from several locations in the city to their targeted venue (the Merdeka Stadium), was aimed at making their numbers look bigger than they actually were.
“I have to admit the strategy was very effective. The truth is, I hardly saw any Chinese among the demonstrators, most seemed to be PAS members,” he said, adding that Bersih 2.0 also failed create the “yellow wave” it had aimed to achieve as the police succeeded in confiscating yellow T-shirts with the word ‘Bersih’ on them, which were banned by the authorities, ahead of and during the illegal assembly today.
“I have to admit the strategy was very effective. The truth is, I hardly saw any Chinese among the demonstrators, most seemed to be PAS members,” he said, adding that Bersih 2.0 also failed create the “yellow wave” it had aimed to achieve as the police succeeded in confiscating yellow T-shirts with the word ‘Bersih’ on them, which were banned by the authorities, ahead of and during the illegal assembly today.
Bersih 2.0 also admitted that it failed to meet its objective of handing over a memorandum to call for electoral reform to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong today.
Its steering committee posted on its website www.bersih.org :”We will make appropriate arrangements to deliver the memorandum when the police have calmed down”.
“Today’s gathering is not the end, it is but one more step in the long walk for clean and fair elections in Malaysia. The campaign continues, to work for electoral reform, the release of all detainees and an end to harassement by the authorities,” it said.
Meanwhile, the Police on their Facebook said all those detained were treated well and professionally by the police.
Detainees were given food and drinks, medical check ups and places to pray for Muslim detainees, police said. – Bernama
Videos show the truth okay so does the overseas press. There was a sea of people everywhere you A*****e. I saw a unity of the Raykat, Malays,Chinese, Indians and others as one walking together at times holding and having their arms locked like a link. I saw the police first hand using tear gas and chemical water cannons.