Output details

The Red Book

This novel is set in India. Three characters from very different backgrounds (Australian, Scottish, Tibetan) find their lives entwine and fall apart. The cities of Delhi and Bhopal are key locations. Research for this novel involved two Literature Residencies and travel around India (funded by the Unesco-Aschberg Foundation and Asialink). Several trips to Bhopal and research into the ongoing effects of the Union Carbide disaster were needed. The novel is underpinned by Buddhist notions of time, spirituality and death. Various monasteries and retreat centres in India were visited and close reading of Buddhist history, texts and meditation techniques was undertaken. The novel required research into the legacy of the British Raj; the effects of Partition; the impact of Indira Gandhi's reign. A basic knowledge of Hindi was needed. The effects of synaesthesia, addictive behaviours and different photographic techniques all informed the novel. The effects of colonialism and post-colonial struggles in India and Tibet play a part in the novel as does an understanding of contemporary Australian and Scottish culture, language, history and politics.