Photo courtesy of watchers
I have titled my first novel Aversion. The definition of this word is “a strong dislike or disinclination” and “an opposition” or “a repulsion” towards a thing, a place or a person. I feel it is an appropriate title because the world today, and especially the world of social media, which this book describes in some detail, is defined by continual conflict and combat between people. In fact, conflict and contention shape our contemporary society.
The main character is an investigative journalist and the book consists of a series of incidents and events which the protagonist researches and reflects on, in a variety of forms, including opinion pieces and poetry. People expecting a traditional storybook will find instead a kaleidoscope of impressions and opinions, expressed across 26 chapters.
Each chapter contains subsections, with evocative subheadings, and each chapter can be read as a stand alone, short piece. Certain key characters – fellow journalists and activists and the protagonist’s niece – are seen and heard across the range of chapters and the stories centre on the capital city of Colombo.
It would be quite easy to conclude from the title and the cover of the book and the scathing first chapter that the book is a critical look at the country, which does not paint a pretty picture – and this will surely offend those who prefer pretty pictures!
However, as the stories unfold, there is a definite development in the protagonist, whose initial hostility to the people she observes as she comes in on assignment to contemporary Sri Lanka gradually modifies into greater insight and compassion. One gets the impression that the person initially critiquing the country begins also to turn that critical eye on herself and startsto understand the depths that underly the initial surface impressions.
As various crises in recent history are referenced, at times obliquely, we as readers come to understand that the people of Sri Lanka have been cumulatively traumatized for the past two decades by multiple factors: ongoing civil war, economic hardship, natural disasters and terrorism. What initially appears as insensitivity to the main character, on the part of the people who have experienced such events, and have been unable to heal from or comprehend the trauma these events have caused, is actually desensitization. The callousness she critiques is the defense response to a continual siege of people’s emotions, optimism and resilience.
In Buddhist teaching, aversion is one of the three deadly poisons of human nature, which are greed, hatred and delusion. Aversion is a form of hatred and ill will. Its remedy is loving kindness.
I hope it is clear that the structure of the story reflects this journey from negativity to greater positivity, just as the cover shows a sky full of stars above stormy waves, which are reminiscent of the tsunami. We are encouraged to reflect that the people of the country have been through a great deal of conflict, in the past 30 years from natural disasters through civil war, terror attacks and economic crisis. This collective trauma, unprocessed, leads to the kinds of behavior that the protagonist, Clementine, observes but does not initially understand.
And observation without empathy or compassion results in hasty judgment. We see such judgments being made all over social media: the insults, the accusations, the instant jumping to conclusions, the extreme willingness to believe the worst in others, the grudges and underlying grievances that skew people’s conversations. All around us, people are getting triggered. This seems to be creating a very splintered and divided society, full of interpersonal conflict.
In that sense, the theme is a global one. The psychological and spiritual solution to the problem of external triggers is to journey within. And this is where it seemed to me that the confessional style of the book, recounted in the form of anecdotes, often in first person and shaped by retrospective self-justifications, is the perfect choice of genre. There’s a blurring of boundaries between characters’ speech and free indirect speech. There are evocations of absent figures and episodes of intense emotional revelation.
This book is a form of recitation. The narrator is sometimes speaking in first person, sometimes described in third person. There are sections which seem like diary entries or a monologue. The welcome conversations the protagonist has with minor characters saves it from being only episodes taking place within the main character’s mind and memory. The narrative is expressed in a disrupted, disjointed and discontinuous form. These are the ways in which I try to evoke the experience of being under siege that many of us feel in the early 21st century. Everything seems to impact us like a series of incoming waves. There is barely time to breathe and recalibrate between impacts.
It is a challenging and provocative book. Some may feel offended by its direct criticism of aspects of the society we live in, all of which can be changed for the better. That superficial response of rejecting what is not pleasing to hear may also fall into the category of “aversion”! Which reminds us that the title can be read as two words: a version. One person’s perspective, in a world where there are many people and many perspectives of life, created by our individual experiences, unique to each of us. Do we try to silence or ignore the opinions which offend us or differ from ours?
The book overall asks us not to avert our gaze but to have the courage to face and take action to change the aspects of our lives and our world which devalue us. To remedy anger with loving kindness and balance judgment with empathy. To continually try to face and overcome greed, hatred and delusion, conflict and suffering. To see beyond the surging seas of present day calamity to the serene sky full of stars, as the artist has depicted in the cover art for the book.
In an upcoming interview I did for The Island, I summed up the issues of the novel like this:
“Countries all over the world are commenting that their systems are broken, but we can see that collectively as human beings we exist in a post Lapsarian state: a fallen world. From climate destruction to the pervasive disrespect we see and hear around us, we can observe that it is certain aspects of human nature that have created our fall and degradation; and it is each individual’s choice to elevate their condition, if they can.
“Upliftment is not just a financial term.
“Like all satirists, I’m an idealist at heart. I believe that speaking out to identify the flaws in a country and a world we love is a creative act, an act of love. We see in its current condition the glories of the past, and the resplendent land it could be in the future. This saddens us, at times, but it also gives us hope to continue: to progress, and free ourselves from what has bedevilled us.
In my opinion, we are beyond the point where cliches and truisms can offer us any lasting solace.”