April 27, 2005
How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and...Literature
By the title alone I think I’m going to like this book. Little Brown & Company has offered Kaavya Viswanathan a $500,000, two book deal. The Financial Express provides the details:
Youre 17 and want to get into US Harvard University, but first what do you do about those infernal jumping hormones that every gal goes through post-teens. Being an Indian, you dont indulge your sex-oriented daydreams (study first, pleasure later). So the next best option is to pen them to paper and get rid of the hots.
In a huge first, US born Kaavya Viswanathan did exactly that and more. Little Brown & Company, a respected 109-year-old publishing house offered Kaavya a $500,000 two-book deal with the first one to be out next spring titled How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got In. Considering that first-time writers get $10,000, Kaavya sure made a killing.
Writing is also the way I get rid of my “hots.”
The New York Sun (registration required) goes into more detail:
Ms. Viswanathan began writing the novel while still at the Bergen County Academy at Hackensack. She’s the only child of her Indian-born parents, Viswanathan Rajaraman, a neurosurgeon, and Mary Sundaram, a gynecologist.
“Everybody in my family, including my parents, won science prizes,” Ms. Viswanathan said. “I was the one with the writing gene - and I’ve no idea where that came from. My parents are still in a state of shock. When I’ve gone home on some weekends, they look at me working at my computer and surely wonder, ‘Who is that strange person?’”
What I can’t help noticing is that a 17-year-old writer, seems to like writing about day-dreams and possibilities, and getting wild, whereas older writers like to focus on why Indian men (or women) suck.
“The main character is a girl of Indian descent who’s totally academically driven, and when she senses from a Harvard admissions officer that her personal life wasn’t perhaps well-rounded, Ms. Mehta goes out and does what she thinks ‘regular’ American kids do - get drunk, kiss boys, dance on the table,” Ms. Viswanathan said.
Can I get a “hell yeah?” Please, anyone? :)
Desilit Daily comments: I can’t tell if this is more likely to sell to desi high school students applying to colleges, or to the parents desperate to get them in to Harvard…
abhi on April 27, 2005 03:57 PM in Literature · T·r·a·c·k·b·a·c·k address · Direct link · Email post
With that kind of advance, Viswanathan better be the next Zadie Smith ;) A huge congrats.
Kitabkhana thinks the book is probably going to be marketed in both the mainstream 'chick lit' and South Asian genres:
Manish, you're contagious. When I read your remarks that this was going to be marketed as 'chick lit', I rolled my eyes, and thought, The Devil Wears Benzer, great. ;)
yeah, yeah, yeah. I love this story! You. Go. Girl.
And I had the same thought abhi, why all this sturm and drang about being desi or immigrant or whatever? Why not write about the possibilities, because they are fabulous. I mean, I am so jealous of the young desis coming up today: you have so much more than I did in my day (sob - ok, not really. I had a pretty darn good time back in the day........)
PS: I don't care what any of you say: chick lit is not that bad. Really. No, really.
I match your "Hell, Yeah!" and raise you three "Huzzahs!" :-)
I mean, it sounds ridiculously silly, but delightfully fun too. I'm all for delightfully fun. There's nothing wrong with entertaining literature.
Michael Chabon has a good essay on throwing off the burden of angst and going in for plot in his forward to the first McSweeney's Thrilling Tales collection, and I hope all you fellow Young Desi Turks* out there are paying attention. We've got a grand tradition of turning aside from "bloodless fiction," and I'm all for integrating that with a futuristic perspective.
*apologies to actual young Turks.
Opal!? Is that a brown name?
Btw, I have a Q - why are the comments being closed on some of the topics? Are you guys getting some "Abusive, content-free, or commercial comments" or is it the "long, obscure rants and requests for celebrities’ contact info"? I checked the FAQs, but there seems to be nothing there except the Divine Brown bit and yeah I did know this guy called Venkat...anyways so whats with the closed comments?
I've been reading your posts for the past couple of days (a google discovery), and I've learned a lot and enjoyed a lot of what you share :)
Heh, and hell, yeah! this book sounds awesome, sounds like a good chance to acquaint oneself to the fireplace... or a t.v. fire if nothing else works :)
Great question, we added it to the FAQ:
what is a "flame war"? thanks!
Flame war:
If we've gone 48 hours without sex. Only you can prevent this.
*spews coke*
blog crack? me? nah. . .
get on sepiamutiny. You call yourselves mutineers yet shy away from flame wars... seems to be part of a recent trend that includes hypersensitivity, censorship and banning... maybe sepia mutineers is an oxymoron
uh oh, wanted to get in a comment before you closed shop
Mutinies require work, not wanking. We'd rather be dropping posts than anonymous personal insults.
Here's an unmoderated forum you might enjoy, soc.culture.indian. Some recent posts:
Here's a lovely selection of our own deleted comments:
And so on, ad infinitum.
We're running a salon here, not a bathroom wall. If you post this shit, you will be deleted and you will be banned. Want to spew unthinking racist bullshit or personal attacks, go to Usenet.
Touche
i can't believe you're having a flame war about how to deal with flame wars.
Very meta, no?
Seems like this has opened up a debate.
Just curious - why not just delete the offensive comments rather than closing comments completely ?
(Wonder if comments on this one will be closed before I get to post this...but you're reading it, so I guess it didn't...phew! that was close!)
all good....99% of the time when they close threads the discussion is played out and it forces people to focus on other issues. And there are about 3-4 new issues every day so it might be a good thing!
We don't close threads because there are offensive comments necessarily. If that were the case we'd just delete them like you suggest. We close threads when the level of debate within them actually makes us grow dumber by the minute. At least thats why I close them.
Now let's talk about Opal and getting wild.
Abhi: there you go dictating what we should talk about Sepia Dictator... excuse me, MUTINEER
it's sepia mutiny not sepia tyranny
FREEEEEEEEEEDOM!
Right after William Wallace cried "FREEDOM" they tore off his arms and legs and dispersed them to the far corners of England so that all would know the fate that befell insolence such as that which you have just exhibited. They stuck his head on a pike as well I believe.
Am I not merciful?
Freedom dude, I think you have a typo, you're looking for www.sepiaanarchy.com.
Can anyone refer me to some good Indian erotic literature. I mean modern day porn, not the kama sutra. I need to gain an insight into modern day Indian sexuality.
I think now be a good time to close the comments on this one. :)
we're not. speaking for myself, i'm fine with the kama sutra. it stopped being a big deal when i was, oh, twelve. i'm just sick of talking about it. i'd much rather discuss other aspects of indian culture vs "the sex manual with weird positions" that ferengi find so interesting, in that limiting, eye-roll inducing way.
i also find it odd that you came to a space like this to ask about indian porn. tell me, have you gone to other south asian-ish sites with your request for insight into modern indian sexuality or just this one?
because...
amen.
P.S.
i love how we're "Indians". here's a fact: i'm an american, too. quit "other-ing" me.
i'd venture that the cosmopolitan SM community is potentially sri lankan, pakistani, nepali, brit-asian, indo-canadian, south asian american...i.e. NOT just "Indians". you might as well have said, "you people". you see, "Indian" is not the same as "south asian" or "brown".
and thanks for the advice/permission wrt flaunting it IF we got it. so kind of you, massa.
No, I specifically mean Indians, not Sri Lankans or other South Asians because I don't know any of them so I don't know whether or not they are shy about talking about sexuality.
But Indians are.
At least within my experience.
By Indians I don't just mean those of you on here who live in India, nor do I just mean those of you on here who are Americans also. I mean anyone on here of Indian descent, no matter where they live.
I would like to know why, as a community and culture, they don't seem comfortable discussing sexuality. Some of the people on here got offended that Oprah asked Aish about the Kama Sutra. Why? Is it not an important part of Indian culture and heritage and something to be proud of? There seems to be so much shame regarding sexuality amongst Indians. Put Oprah on any international talk show and have the host throw her the question regarding the Black-Man- Big-Private-Part-stereotype and I'm sure she'd get a good laugh out of it and answer according to her experience. But Aish, good Indian girl that she is, actually says nothing about her experience with Kama Sutra. I just don't get it.
Yes, I have asked around on other sites about good Indian erotic literature and I either get pmd nasty messages or chastised by people who thought sexuality was an "inappropriate subject". I want some real answers from real people.
And by the way, Oprah did not ask Aish about the Kama Sutra. Aish was the one who mentioned it first so you will have to blame Bollywood for misrepresenting Indians and spreading stereotypes.
That aside, you should be thankful that due to your ancient ancestors the world views Indians as "sexually progressive"... until you actually get to know them.
Because it's a traditional, agrarian society, just like the U.S. before the '60s.
No, it's actually not. It's a minor text that exoticists flock to like flies to shit. It's the one of the least informed questions you could ask a desi, on par with asking a Japanese person about slanted eyes or a Parisian about the Eiffel Tower.
Not a big deal...Book a flight to india, go to connaught place in delhi or walk around south bombay and ask the shadiest cat you can find for some "blue films" and the like. They will assist you without the least bit of apprehension over excessive sexuality.
Oh well, it looks like I am tuning in pretty late, but couldn't resist checking if the comments were closed on this one.
No, it's actually not. It's a minor text that exoticists flock to like flies to shit. It's the one of the least informed questions you could ask a desi, on par with asking a Japanese person about slanted eyes or a Parisian about the Eiffel Tower.
That's exacty right. I love this guy!
Here's a column by our girl Kaavya in the NYT: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/31/opinion/31kaavya.html?ex=1123041600&en=3d14902c527c1c9a&ei=5070
Its a wnderful full. I bought it online from www.bookshopofindia.com
Chao.
hi , i first got to know u frm "alive magazine", to tell u i havent read the book , coz i know wats in there already . i hav learnt enough frm the journals, i guess i can soon lay my hands on it when it hits the rack here in my place. is it possible tht i can play the role of opal mehta in the forth coming movie . it fascinates me more then nething , i feel i can do justice to the character , i know its not u who can decide but plz if u culd frw my srtong recommendation to where ever u can. i hav a split personality , my frendz say , when i am studying i am very serious and seem like i dont know wat enjoying is like , and once i got to party and i showed that i can enjoy too, i rocked the place dancing thruout the night . its a request ...if u culd help me play the role of opal mehta in the movie i would be very happy , i am indian but my name sounds american , i got no religion but my name sounds christian . i thought i must give it a try coz even impossible says i m possible . waitin for a reply.............
Her feet of clay have crumbled.
seems like she might be in some trouble.
don't know if there's a legal case against her though. would she have to have lifted an entire paragraph/chapter verbatim to be charged with plagiarism? or maybe it's just an unfortunate coincidence...
She lifted many sections almost verbatim - I believe the NY times quoted them?
Iit "proves" that young people can't handle the pressure of a book deal and come up with completely original work... at least, the publishing world will think so. I wonder if this will affect the book's sales and movie deal... I doubt it will, and that's really a shame.
In this interview the (~ahem)"author" discusses how she never wrote humor before. This was her first try, and wadda ya know... Best Seller! Best of all is the following quote:hindu.com
...no doubt.
Y'all exhibited some remarkable restraint on this post, guys. Kudos.
I would agree with the assessment that Indians (and South Asians) are terrified of sexuality in many of its forms. That said, they still love having sex. Like...a lot.
And to the young lady who asks on SM for props SO SHE CAN BECOME A MOVIE STAR, while admitting she hasn't read the book, yet is utterly unafraid of spewing typos left and right on SM, one of the most grammtically-correct sites on the 'Net:
Wow. She got de big brass ones. You go, girl!
In case you haven't seen the latest news from the Harvard Crimson, apparently Kaavya Viswanathan her book - to be polite - has already been written by Megan McCafferty !
Harvard Crimson article : http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=513041
Comarisons : http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=512965
The word is "plagiarism".
What a FRAUD!
It's a total disgrace for her...God knows what was on her mind when she wrote those lines...but hope she comes out of this unfazed too...
You do realize that this post is from a year ago, right? So yes, in the year that has passed, we have learned additional facts about this...story. See recent posts, for those. (How logical!)
Have the common courtesy to let me know why you removed my post? I was not abusive! Or is it that you don't agree with what I said???!! How about that for censorship?
She is only seventeen. Just let her be.
Similarities will crop up. Especially when you have over 4 billion thinking brains on this plant. I have not read the literature(s) in refrence, but have been following the reports. This could be a situation of one getting driven by anothers success, or even someting do with a persons origins. What ever the fact, this does not herald promise for literature.
No difference between this and someone pirating music off the Net! She just happens to be rich, privileged, and an Ivy Leaguer. She just happened to get caught with her hands in the cookie jar. And, it just happens that Little Brown and most of the literary world is upset and rightfully so. I hope the company recovers all their money back. She should apologize to Megan and the rest of the world and return to her well-deserved obscurity.
kama sutra is not an important part of indian culture and heritage . it is just the case of one book being
quoted so many times that for a lot of people it has become representation of indian culture (just like elephants). sex IS a taboo in india society ( at least in india ) . but that mean only that people dont talk about sex in public transports or in families. otherwise everybody talks and think about sex like that is the only reason to live ;)
we can trace back sex in indian culture and find that we have even legalised prostitution ( or quite close) .
but all that is past .
maybe it is time for a revolution ...
I can't believe that she copied that book without realizing it! well, i guess it's possible, but seriously! her whole career will probably be ruined. HAHA! who else would want her to write for them after this huge incident?
get me a frappucino, stat! ladeedah BOOM! hyper i am
"What I cant help noticing is that a 17-year-old writer, seems to like writing about day-dreams and possibilities, and getting wild, whereas older writers like to focus on why Indian men (or women) suck."
While searching for info on Kaavya Viswanathan, I discovered your blog. What American older writers focus on why Indian men and women suck? I don't think they suck, and never did ... especially the women, since I dated an Indian woman in college :)
Kumar wrote:
"And, it just happens that Little Brown and most of the literary world is upset and rightfully so. I hope the company recovers all their money back."
I dunno ... i read a rumor/theory somewhere (forget where) that suggest Little Brown was a conspirator. Supposedly, someone from Random House went to work for Little Brown. They suggested that they should be marketing books that appeal to the people that purchase Megan McCaffrey's books. Viswanathan is currently the Milli Vanilli of literature. She's not so much an author as she is a public figurehead ... "Hey, young girls will buy the book if we pass THIS young girl off as an author."
Ninad Chaubal said, "Similarities will crop up. Especially when you have over 4 billion thinking brains on this plant."
I have not read either book, and don't plan to. But I have seen enough evidence here...If you look at the suspect passages, it is clear to see that this was NOT the product of her imagination. Someone had to sit down, carefully examine the passages, and deliberately construct those new paragraphs in the very same order of events (within each paragraph) as Megan's original paragraphs! A side-by-side comparison begs to indicate that these were not random thoughts! Coincidence? Not a snowball's chance in hell!
Perhaps it is the over-reaching Desi syndrome.. , neurosurgeon Dad and gynocologist Mom. Its hard life to be a pimpernel.
Hell No For Heaven's Sake!
Somewhere, I read she wants to be an investment banker. Yeah, right! I can now see all my investments vanish into thin air! Not a chance!
What a stupid, cheating girl. Faking talent seems to be the norm in this society. Why do we accept it?
She has brought DISGRACE to the whole writers community
I found my way here having googled the book title, I was looking for some comparison of the "copied" material, what all the hub-bub was about.
After having read the plagiarized material, I can definitely see the unconscious of a smart girl at work. Getting good grades in school is all about being able to spit back what youve learned. Having grown up at the bottom end of the top of the class, I always envied how the smartest kids could spit back everything they ever heard, but I recognized that they couldnt see the forest for the trees. This is just the problem: schools dont cultivate unique creativity any more, they teach to the test, and this is the result. I can see how everything shes ever read is muddled around in her mind, and with only 17 years of life experience to her name, shes bound to spit out what shes read elsewhere as if its her own because shes got little else to go on.
This is why there are no great-young novelists. Life experience gives us a story to tell, and lacking that, one uses what ones read elsewhere, even subconsciously.
I find no harm in finding ones own artistic style by copying others, thats how many learn to sing or draw or write. But you need the time and experience to recognize when youve broken free into your own, and its a shame that no one else could have told her this before the book was published. Everyone loves a prodigy, but some things only come with experience. If she had sat on her writing, perhaps even just thru college, she could have come out on the other side able to work thru it again with her own style and words.
Did Opal get to keep the advance? If she did, was any "lesson" learned?
...
who says society accepts faking talent. you ignoramus.
Wasn't there a corporate coauthor ("book packager" or whatever they're called) which got half the advance?
Although I am not a very regular reader of Novels, some of my friends told me about this book, I got it and started reading. The more I read, the more it became interesting. I finished this book in just 3 days, as I was unable to leave it without finishing.
I think Kavya's sense of humor is really good and the character she portrait is really amazing. Even though the book became controversial subject in the market, I will be looking forward for more creation from her side and frankly speaking I became a real fan of her.
omg i am a desi and i sooooo totally about parents putting pressure on there kids when it comes to studies. any ways i loved and i mean loved your book. you should make a series about opal.
i am a desi too. and though i 've been unable to get a copy of opal mehta... from wat i've heard of it...it sounds good. i've been lately obsessed with anything relating to her news. i fully support Kaavya Viswanathan. i hope she writes again and w/o all this shit about fraud. i'm soon recieving her book so i can read it . i look forward to enjoying it very much!
About 3 years ago, I was Opal Mehta, or felt like it. Thrown into a culture obsessed with sex and celebrity. I wanted to be a part of the "in" crowd. I knew many fellow untouchables who held the same passive aggressive bipolar (and in retrospect somewhat wacky) point of view: (I love you, but back away, for I am not worthy of your love). Sure, I was playing hard to get. I was very well bosomed and had numerous gentleman callers. I made so much money making men and women horny that I wanted to show others how to do what I did and be who I am. Just like Opal. Here we have a character who consciously obtains what she she has subconsciously wanted all along -- the acceptance of others. This "person" is really just a toddler with a rejection complex. Her parents didn't want her because she was a lady, or galpal, of "letters." She couldn't bear the burden of her own geeky outsider status, so she fictionalized herself and created a modified identity. Pleasing an entire community of neurosurgeons and gynecologists with hefty praise for her having obtained uncritical but name brand success in a field that they supposedly don't understand: the pigtail genre. One day Opal is hopscotching around a gated community, and the next she's desparately tapdancing for sexual attention at Hog's and Heifers. So that's who I also used to be. Personally, I think plagiarism should be a deportable offense. I say, strip her of whatever resident or citizenship status she has. Just let her try get adequate psychiatric help in India.
I think she was alright, sure she copied the idea or some chapter, per say, but it was a good read nevertheless. she is just 17. i think she has done pretty good for herself. She studies in Harvard, and writes something that sold worldwide, got a fat deal and became famous, for wrong reasons though!
But i am glad she wrote it and i read it.
if she was so smart to get into harvard you would think that she's smart enough not to plagiarize. and at first i was skeptical about the amount that she copied, and i thought that people were exaggerating. if you look on wikipedia it shows actual excerpts she copied and SHE CLEARLY copied it. its sad because the topic of her book seems really amusing and a good read. she doesn't deserve the money i'm about to spend on the book because i have yet to read it, but she does deserve to face the consequences of plagiarism.
she's not smart enough not to plagiarize
but she's smart enough to plagiarize when she's still a minor.
I think Kaavya's balls are bigger than man books on crack!