Melville House Books

Arundhati Roy

“No other writer inspires as much anger and mountains of hate mail” as Arundhati Roy, observes Saba Naqvi Bhaumik in the Hindustan Times (in an article called “Why we love to hate Ms Roy,” which is unavailable on the Times’ own website but is posted here on Subaltern Media). “She has repeatedly asked for trouble challenging the big boys when they are playing with their favourite toys: the Big Bomb, the Big Dam, the Big War and now the Big Terrorist,” says Bhaumik. But there’s more than that direct challenge — there’s her attitude: “First, there is the macho male response to a woman who is not just brilliant and beautiful, but is also blessed with a talent for turning out powerful prose.” Then, there’s the fact that “Roy’s sartorial tastes are like a bucket of cold water to a cash-rich middle-class pursuing polyester dreams. Ethnic chic, new-age hippie, Western vogue, all rolled into one … devastatingly trendy, but also very individualistic.” Then there’s her haircut: “Some years ago she changed to a close-cropped style to expose her slightly protruding ears. In one stroke, she challenged the conventional stereotype of beauty.” In short, says Bhaumik, “Indians are a forgiving people and her critics would absolutely adore Roy if she moved to the West, where they believe people like her actually belong.”

Dennis Johnson is the founder of MobyLives, and the co-founder and co-publisher of Melville House.