‘You have made exceptional choices and you’ve lead an exceptional existence. You have gone to live far from the world. You are living an experience no one else is living. Why don’t you face these things head on?’
The Italian editor I’m having a discussion with, Antonio Franchini, is very evidently rejecting the idea of publishing my latest novel, while suggesting I write something else. Antonio goes to muay thai kickboxing and judo practice at lunch break. He rivets his intelligent martial arts gaze on you through his thick eyeglass lenses when he speaks with a precise, slightly nasal cadence. Every word is a hit. So you better listen to him.
We’re sitting in his open space office, in a gigantic architectural marvel, on the outskirts of Milan, surrounded by an artificial lake. Imagine a vintage ’70s Gurgaon in Northern Italy, if you can.
‘You are leading an eccentric life. Why not tell it directly? Why does a man your age and with your background decide to go and live in such a remote area of India? It’s an uncommon choice, in an uncommon area with an uncommon woman. So I ask myself: what does an Indian fisherman think of an Italian who lives 10 km from his house?’
It’s just 1 km, I mentally correct him, but I keep my lips zipped. He is an editor and, like all editors, hates being edited. Plus, kickboxing…
Listen to chapter 3 of Mappillai…
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