|
This novel, the author's second, has three narrators: One is
Gravedigger, a rogue elephant who terrorized the countryside at
the turn of the century.
Born in 1980 to Indian immigrants, James lives in Washington and
spoke to Reuters about her new book and writing from the
elephant's point of view.
Q: What was the inspiration for the novel?
A: (It was) a non-fiction book by Tarquin Hall called "To
the Elephant Graveyard" in which he mentions a real-life
elephant that used to bury its victims.
I'd known that elephants bury their own dead, and that they have
complex grieving rituals, but this burial of human victims
seemed a macabre distortion of an otherwise tender and sensitive
act. That particular elephant's trajectory, from captivity to
escaped rogue, inspired one of the arcs of my novel.
Q: How tough was writing it from the elephant's
perspective?
A: The elephant sections probably went through the most
iterations and revisions. Initially, I tried a first-person
voice, but it seemed too fabulist and it didn't quite mesh with
the other two voices. I tried writing from the points of view of
people around the elephant as well.
I suspect I was a little hesitant to anthropomorphize, or give
human qualities to an animal, but the more research I did on
elephant behavior, the more it seemed that term was somewhat
outdated, based on an old understanding of what we know about
animal psychology. I should add that there are obvious limits to
the Gravedigger's interiority, and my portrayal of it.
Q: Midway there is the myth of the flying elephants.
A: I read a lot of elephant origin myths during my
research process, and they were mesmerizing. There was one about
flying elephants who were condemned to a flightless life by a
sage. There was another about an African elephant who powdered
his canines with magical dust, which allowed him to grow the
world's first tusks.
At first it didn't seem clear to me how a myth would work within
the framework of the novel. My hope is that it hovers over and
haunts the rest of the story, adding resonance to the novel's
events through its magical elements.
(Editing by Patricia Reaney and Gunna Dickson)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
|
|
