Out of the Mouths of Actors: Dipika Mukherjee Discovers the Magic of Audible Books
On March 28, 2017, Audbible release Ode to Broken Things as an audiobook, but before that, they sent me
a link to an excerpt on SoundCloud.
Ode to Broken Things
is my debut novel. Like a jealous Mum, I wanted the book to stride into this
new audio world with intelligent self-conviction but I definitely did not want
it adopted by a mentor so fabulous that it would forget its roots and my
vision.
So the first time I listened to Ode To Broken Things—if it can be called “listening” – was in the shower, with the sound partially
drowned by cascading waters.
Okay. So I am a writer who NEVER reads her books once they
are published. When I am called upon at literary or talks to read excerpts, I
discover cringe-worthy writing hiding in the recesses of my beloved passages. I
am glad that excellent editors comb through my writing, because when I am done
with edits, all I do is binge-watch Hallmark movies and Bollywood escapism for
weeks, completely disengaging my brain until I am ready to do words again.
I imagine that all writers are uncomfortable with their words
made flesh, but the first time a German filmmaker showed an interest in my novel,
underneath the excitement was the thought, How
are they going to cast for a book that is set in Malaysia, has speakers of
Malaysian English, Indian English, American English, and native speakers of
Bengali and Malay? Ego reared a great ugly head, knowing that I, the
creator of this world nurtured in my mind for over a decade, will see this
story implode in the hands of another artist.
Cue the entrance of Audible, purveyors of brilliant Audio
Books around the world, who bought audio rights to Ode to Broken Things. Then they cast British actor HomerTodiwalla to read the book I had written.
A word about the fabulous staff at Audible; they are
wonderful to work with and as soon as the audio rights were in their hands,
they offered me free audiobooks to check out their system and double-checked
that I could access books in the UK and the US. They just weren’t interested in
my input on who should be cast to read for my book.
So when the Audiobook was released worldwide on March 28, I,
along with millions of people, (ok, more like a few hundred people) heard this
book at
the same time.
Most people probably heard it before me, because as you already
know, I listened to it in the shower.
My publisher, Repeater Books in London, have been most
excellent with the editing and distribution of this book; I do very little but
show up for events, so the fact that the audiobook would be good should have
been self-evident. But I am a sociolinguist by academic training and like most
researchers and teachers of language I knew all the things that could go wrong
with pronunciation and articulation.
If they had got me involved with Central Casting, I’d have
whipped out a real shibboleth to sort out the Malaysian English speakers from
others.
The first time I listened to Homer reading, I was startled
by the mispronunciation; Malaysian English is not Indian English, and the ubiquitous
lah in Malaysian English does not take a pause before articulation, but tags on
happily to words for emphasis (Ok lah,
said as one word, can emphasise agreement, frustration, amusement, and a host
of other human complexities). Malaysian English is also idiosyncratic and very very funny, especially when Antares describes it.
But then, Homer started to weave his magic. As a professional
actor, he knew where to pause breathlessly and where to raise his voice just so.
The section on the hunt for the Kajang terror with the soldiers weaving their way
through the dense undergrowth of the dank rainforests grew sonorous with the
whisper of leaves and the chirp of wildlife. There is a nuanced lilt to his
voice when he takes on the persona of the aged grandmother, Shapnasundari,
which I, as an author rushing to finish reading and sit down again, will never
be able to replicate on any stage.
All of my worries about my Singaporean
and Malaysian buddies listening to this and saying Rubbish lah! melted away as Homer’s voice filled my ears with words from succeeding chapters. I know from teaching English that very few people distinguish varieties of Asian Englishes
clearly enough to be disturbed by anomalies in a particular type, and this
audiobook, available in the US and UK for western readers, is unlikely to disconcert.
Besides the story is still mine, still intact,
still good...and much enhanced by the talent of the actor reading it aloud.
I have used this old Bengali proverb in
Ode to Broken Things but I am recycling it again:
Gacher theke phol mishti
Sweeter than the tree you plant is the fruit
it bears.
P.S: I still have a few free US & UK codes to giveaway for reviewers who want to review this audiobook; write to me here.
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