Statement read at the 2003 John Llewellyn Rhys Prize: “As the child of an immigrant I am only too aware of the poisonous effect of the Mail's editorial line. The atmosphere of prejudice it fosters translates into violence and I have no wish to profit from it.” Kunzru donated the £5000 prize fund to Refugee Council (UK).
There are many things you can assimilate about the novelist from the opening paragraph of this profile of Hari Kunzru. One, he was a renowned under 35 author (as is the title of the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize), two, he was a son of an immigrant and three, he's got a bit of vigour.
Hari grew up in 1969 in Essex, East London and was educated at Bancroft's School in Woodford Green. After leaving the school he studied English at Wadham College, Oxford University. His academic accolades were complete when he gained an MA in Philosophy and Literature at Warwick University.
The Wadham Alumnus started off working at the short lived “Wired UK” magazine, a Technology, Internet and Computer industry focused monthly journal. Once leaving the company he moved onto bigger things, working as a travel journalist for newspapers such as The Guardian and The Telegraph whilst also managing to squeeze in time to work as a TV presenter interviewing Sky TV's electronic arts programme “The Lounge”. Other occupational adventures included the role of contributing editor to Mute, the culture and technology magazine. In 1999 Kunzru picked up The Observer Young Travel Writer of the Year, and started his role as music editor at the prestigious Wallpaper* magazine.
Whilst still working at Wallpaper* Kunzru wrote his first novel, “The Impressionist.” The book was greeted with great national and then worldwide acclaim being translated into 17 languages and winning many awards. The novel manages to paint an incredibly dark yet believable and energetic 1920s Raj, following the protagonist's journey of a spoiled child cast onto the vicious streets of Agra, Uttar Pradesh and following his consequential journey around India and foreign shores. Kunzru’s books, especially “The Impressionist” feature gritty themes, corrupt characters and stark experiences throughout and I would recommend them to a mature audience. In 2003, Hari Kunzru was named by Granta magazine as one of twenty "Best of Young British Novelists" and the following year Transmission, his second novel was released. The story centred on Indian programmer Arjun Mehta's experience of relocation to Silicon Valley from India and he brings his Bollywood infested imagination with him as he seeks the “American Dream”, but finds out the reality has far less singing and dancing it seems. Feeling insecure of his job, he desperately clings to what’s left of his American Dream, he engineers a virus to impress his bosses, making sure he can come up with the cure and secure his job, however the situation gets out of control. The amusing novel encompasses several other unrelated characters and the effect of the virus on a more individual level.
Kunzru's culture and social roles in his journalistic work clearly translates through his writings. His own experience of traditional academia smoothly merges with progressive thinking that is not polluted with regressive social or media trends. Coupled with his own well travelled experience and well researched frameworks, his novels are always outputted with a fresh delivery, intriguing, individual environments and situations with a continuously adaptive plot.
As of the current day his most recent novel is My Revolutions (which I will talk about in the next issue). Currently Kunzru is working on his 4th major novel, and as of 2008 sits as deputy president of PEN (Poets, Essayists and Novelists) UK.
The descriptions he gives put the narrative right on the ground and does not fall into a well known authorial commentator role of a describing from a pedestal. Sometimes themes and situations fall on the overly profound, almost like a pragmatic romantic, which can often be a weakness as he builds a very well researched variable framework that can exploited with the readers perceptions.
The polar current social and cultural experience whilst also describing the nature and scope of technology. Not the electronic technology, but off social, political and perceptional technology, a pragmatic technacy of what actually goes on in the world.
By Neal Tanna
