Product Description

Arundhati Roy is not only an accomplished novelist, but equally gifted in unraveling the politics of globalization, the power and ideology of corporate culture, fundamentalism, terrorism, and other issues gripping today’s world. This volume – featuring prominent scholars from throughout the world – examines Roy beyond the aesthetic parameters of her fiction, focusing also on her creative activism and struggles in global politics. The chapters travel to and fro between her non-fictional works – engaging activism on the streets and global forums – and its underlying roots in her novel. Roy is examined as a novelist, non-fiction writer, journalist, activist, feminist, screenwriter, ideologist, and architect. This volume presents Roy's interlocking network of the ideas, attitudes and ideologies that emerge from the contemporary social and the political world.

Product Description

A skillful interviewer can reveal aspects of a writer’s voice in simple yet telling ways. As a novelist, Arundhati Roy is known for her lush language and intricate structure. As a political essayist, her prose is searching and fierce. All of these qualities shine through in the interviews collected by David Barsamian for Globalizing Dissent: Converations with Arundhati Roy. New and devoted readers will find that these exchanges, recorded between 2001 and 2003, add to their appreciation of Roy’s previous work.

Whether discussing her childhood or the problems of translation in a multilingual society, Roy and Barsamian, the producer and host of Alternative Radio, engage in a lively and accessible manner. Speaking candidly and casually, Roy describes her participation in a demonstration against the Indian dam program as, "absolutely fantastic." She jokes that her Supreme Court charge for "corrupting public morality"—in the case of her novel The God of Small Things—should have been changed to "further corrupting public morality." She calls on her training as an architect to explain what she means by the "physics of power." Like a house of cards, she argues that "unfettered power . . . cannot go berserk like this and expect to hold it all together."

Roy has been acclaimed for her courage (Salman Rushdie) and her eloquence (Kirkus Reviews), and her writing has been described as "a banquet for the senses" (Newsweek). She has found a readership among fiction enthusiasts and political activists. Globalizing Dissent captures Roy speaking one-on-one to her audience, revealing her intense and wide-ranging intellect, her very personal voice, and her opinion on momentous political events.

Arundhati Roy’s novel The God of Small Things was awarded the Booker Prize in 1997. She is the recipient of the 2002 Lannan Foundation Prize for Cultural Freedom.

Customer Reviews (7)

The Checkbook and the Cruise Missile
I read and very much enjoyed Ms. Roy's book, The God of Small Things.A short time ago I was driving home after having participated in a candle light vigil in support of Cindy Sheehan and our troops in Iraq when I heard a broadcast of a speech she made in Australia. I was so impressed that I immediately ordered the book which contains that speech and other NPR interviews.While I've not had time yet to read the book, the teaser I got from listening to her, tells me that this will be a "5" experience!

globalizing dissent
Originally titled "The Globalization of Dissent", "The Checkbook and the Cruise Missile" is a series of four interviews with author Arundhati Roy.The interviews, guided conversations, really, are conducted by radio producer David Barsaman.Roy is perhaps best known as the author of the Booker Prize winning novel "The God of Small Things", but she has also written three collections of essays dealing with such various subjects as the corruption of the Indian government, American Imperialism, and nuclear arms proliferation.This book touches on many of these same themes, but also deals with Roy's personal life in a level her essays have not.

The first interview "Knowledge and Power" was conducted in February 2001.As the title suggests, the focus of this interview is on knowledge and power and what both mean to Arundhati Roy.Roy discusses, as she does in her essays, the abuse of power by the Indian government and the arrogance of controlling knowledge.Roy mentions how knowledge can (and has) caused arrogance and corruption in the intellectual elites.Specific instances mentioned include the government letting Enron control and own so much of India's power structure, and the irresponsible destruction caused by the Big Dam projects.This interview paints, in broad strokes, a picture of the overall worldview of Arundhati Roy.This is fantastic stuff.In Roy we discover an intelligent, accomplished, passionate woman who has taken the very human responsibility of trying to make a difference in the world.

The second interview, taken in September 2002, is a much shorter essay.Titled "Terror and the Maddened King", the essay begins with David Barsaman questioning Roy about the charges brought against her because of the novel "The God of Small Things".This interview deals more with Roy's reaction to, and experience with, government bullying.This interview feels as if it is setting up a future discussion, that there is a reason why Roy and others must speak up to the injustices caused by governments and Empires of the world.

In the longest interview, "Privitization and Polarization", Arundhati Roy makes some bold, inflammatory statements.She writes "terrorism is the privitization of war.Terrorists are the free marketers of war - people who believe that it isn't only the state that can wage war, but private parties as well." (92)She then goes on to say that "Osama Bin Laden and George Bush are both terrorists".To the American reader this is a shocking and even inconceivable.Taken from a different perspective and reading how Roy explains her viewpoint, it is not as unbelievable as it seems.From the viewpoint of one who is against globalization and the bullying of the government of the American Empire, the connections in Roy's logic are understandable.She does make a point, however, to distinguish the American people with the political power machine.This interview was conducted in November 2002.

The final interview was conducted on May 26, 2003.The title here, "Globalizing Dissent", is particularly apt.While it is never stated directly, the primary theme running through this interview is the idea that the globalization of a "world economy", which Roy feels is the globalization of the American economy, is necessarily also globalizing a dissent against that same globalization.This, Roy contends, is why the world is seeing a higher amount of and more intense form of terrorism against the forms of globalization.It is seen against America in Iraq and Roy sees it firsthand in India.In this interview Roy talks about how the terrorism of George Bush in Iraq is doing nothing more than causing more and more of this dissent.

There is very much a strong tone of anti-globalization running through "The Checkbook and the Cruise Missile".Arundhati Roy is against the broad application of power which is wielded by the world's most powerful nation.She feels strongly about looking after all of humanity, not just those with power.Ultimately, that is what Roy is trying to accomplish.

The voice of Arundhati Roy is vitally important, no matter what one's opinion of her message.At the very least it is a point of view which should be seriously considered as an alternative.She makes very good points and argues them passionately and with intelligence.She suffers no fools and has no patience with an argument made from simple nationalism.This is an important voice, but perhaps one that many in the world will find uncomfortable as she argues against many of the foundations of Western Society.

The bottom line is that this book expands and explains Roy's essays and gives a deeper personal look inside the life and mind of an important writer.

-Joe Sherry

Smart Political Conversation

Here is everything you've come to know and love of Arundhati Roy - and David Barsamian.Roy's political observations are of an exceptionally acute and pithy intelligence.Her wisdom has a way of turning a phrase completely unique to Roy, yet without losing the common touch.It lashes out in fury at injustice everywhere, yet with compassion as vital and common as sodden sand squishing through barefoot toes on a riverbank.

Despite her success, Roy is quite content to live away from celebrity, in India, which she says maintains a measure of the wildness that has long been put under the bulldozer of Western "progress":

"In India we are fighting to retain a wilderness that we have.Whereas in the West, it's gone.Every person that's walking down the street is a walking bar code.You can tell where their clothes are from, how much they cost, which designer made which shoe, which shop you bought each item from.Everything is civilized and tagged and valued and numbered and put in its place.Whereas in India, the wilderness still exists - the unindocrinated wilderness of the mind, full of untold secrets and wild imaginings.It's threatened, but we're fighting to retain it.We don't have to reconjure it.It's there.It's with us.It's not got signposts all the way.There is that space that hasn't been completely mapped and taken over and tagged and trademarked.I think that's important.And it's important that in India, we understand that it's there and we value it.

Roy expresses a remarkably matter-of-fact courage and an unbiased reason in the face of the rabid nationalism and religious fundamentalism and fanaticism that engenders, among other dark clouds, the nuclear brinkmanship between India and Pakistan.

There is something almost otherwordly about the honesty and modesty of Roy's political discourse, something in her expression so humane and plain-spoken you had despaired ever hearing it again.It is othwordly precisely because it's so obvious, so expected, and yet almost always lacking.

After the smash success of her first novel The God of Small Things, Roy says rather than any of the large publishing houses from which she could have had her pick she chose South End Press to publish her next two books of essays:

"People really imagine that most people are in search of fame or fortune or success.But I don't think that's true.I think there are lots of people who are more imaginative than that.When people describe me as famous and rich and successful, it makes me feel queasy.Each of those words falls on my soul like an insult.They seem tinny and boring and shiny and uninteresting to me.It makes me feel unsuccessful because I never set out to be those things.And they make me uneasy.To be famous, rich, and successful in this world is not an admirable thing.I'm suspicious of it all."

Quintessential Roy, and such a beautiful thought.In its own right, but especially in contrast to the seething, insatiable appetites of capitalist greed.Whatever happened to beautiful thoughts in beautiful minds?

Who else but Roy will say piercing truths we all feel, but cannot quite enunciate such as the fact that all the attention to terrorism today "completely ignores the economic terrorism unleashed by neoliberalism, which devastates the lives of millions of people, depriving them of water, food, electricity.Denying them medicine.Denying them education.Terrorism is the logical extension of this business of the free market.Terrorism is the privatization of war.Terrorists are the free marketeers of war - people who believe that it isn't only the state that can wage war, but private parties as well."

Elsewhere, Roy gives a psychology of terror in which U.S. and U.K. resorts to war in reaction to terrorist strikes actually empower terrorists, because before the terrorist were only weak, wretched and anonymous.Now they can start wars.Now they have their finger on the nuclear button.

This too, vintage Roy:

"In a country like the United States where books like Chomsky's 9-11 are starting to reach wider audiences, aren't people going to feel a bit pissed off that they had no idea about what was going on, and what was being done in their name?If the corporate media continues to be as outrageous in its suppression of facts as it is, it might just lift off like a scab. It might become something that's totally irrelevant, that people just don't believe.Because ultimately, people are interested in their own safety.

"The policies the U.S. government is following are dangerous for its citizens.It's true that you can bomb or buy out anybody that you want to, but you can't control the rage that's building in the world.You just can't.And that rage will express itself in some way or the other.Condemning violence is not going to be enough.How can you condemn violence when a section of your economy is based on selling weapons and making bombs and piling up chemical and biological weapons?When the soul of your culture worships violence?On what grounds are you going to condemn terrorism, unless you change your attitude toward violence?"

Roy's story of development, personal and global
David Barsamian asks good questions (he's had years of practice) but it's Arundhati Roy's answers that make this book so rewarding. She combines an impressive knowledge of facts with real commitment and passion.

She doesn't let the interview format get the best of her, turning her responses into lectures. Instead, she is a smart-alec sometimes and just plain smart at other times. Her dedication to making the world a better place is personal, with roots in her childhood in India. As she describes US imperialism, corporate power, and corruption in the Indian government, she ties it all to her own political development. This is an important book, easy to read but very informative and inspiring.

Personal and Impromptu Roy
This book is wonderful for those who are already familiar with Roy's work, providing an opportunity for her to reflect on prior work and speak her mind openly. Along with discussion of contemporary issues, such as 9-11, US imperial hegemony, and the Narmada Dam project in India, The Checkbook and the Cruise Missle fleshes out the context of Roy's upbringing in Kerala, India, as well as the deeper motivations behind The God of Small Things, Power Politics and War Talk. David Barsamian, veteran underground media guru, asks fresh, penetrating questions that will keep you interested throughout. A wonderful addition to Roy literature. ... Read more

Product Description
From India's earliest women poets to Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, from the Raj to the dawn of India's nuclear age, from transcendent literature to ethnic bloodshed, these essays trace the path of an often unfathomable land. Contributors include Christopher de Bellaigue, Anita Desai, and Nobel Prize winner Amartya Sen, among others. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

crap
Writers like Arundhati Roy love to write about conflicts.... the left in general loves the idea of a class struggle... because that is how the society in the West was for many years and still is in certain ways.. India has never been about that.. what one sees in India at every turn is reconciliation.. the amazingly accommodating nature of India enabling us to accept people from all religions, from all backgrounds etc. I believe that the essential nature of India is love... sadly, very few people recognize this and this book is the result.. shallow and abusive... We no longer seem to have the awe and respect for beauty and greatness... the "everyone and everything is equal" philosophy has destroyed our understanding of the world.As Adi Shankara says, we are all equal but only when our mind evolves to the stage where we can conceive of the world in that fashion.A materialistic loony who has plastic surgery every six months is not equal to Adi Shankara no matter what anyone might say.As they say in my hometown,Kahan Raja Bhoj, Kahan Gangoo Telli?

Read the names of the contributors and you can skip the book
The contributors to the book all consider themselves to be leftists. The Indian contributors are all Westernized and many live in the West.They have a long history of being unremittingly critical of Indian culture and traditions.One of the contributors, N. Ram, openly supports the Chinese destruction of Tibet, her culture and civilization.Amartya Sen should stick to economics, his specialty; but even here, his embracement of Marxism, a failed ideology, makes his opinions suspect.Pankaj Mishra is the author of a very badly written sneering travelogue on India called Butter Chicken in Ludhiana.He is also "credited" with "discovering" Arundhati Roy, who has written the introduction.Given that the contributors form a Mutual Admiration Society, you will get a perspective that completely lacks diversity: not the Mosaic promised.Most importantly, nearly all the writers write from a highly political (leftist) perspective.This makes for shrill, and ultimately very annoying reading.

Spare yourself the trouble.Visit India yourself and make up your mind.You are likely to come away with a much more positive impression than the one this book seeks to project.

Bleeding Heart Essays
Tunku Vardarajan in the India today says, India: a Mosaic is a con job. The word "mosaic" suggests a variety in the book. Instead the book talks about "bleeding-hearted" essays.According to him,the articles in the book were published elsewhere and are "profoundlystale." From my reading of the book i found the book to be a "donot buy." ... Read more

Product Description
A definitive reference work for activists and citizens interested in taking part in the worldwide effort to speak out against the war in Iraq and against the abuse of power."In February 2003-weeks before an illegal war was initiated against Iraq-millions of people protested in the streets of the world. That call went unheeded... [Now] Iraq has been invaded, occupied, and devastated. The attack on Iraq is an attack on justice, on liberty, on our safety, on our future, on us all. We, people of conscience, decided to stand up. We formed the World Tribunal on Iraq (WTI) to demand justice and a peaceful future. The principal object of the WTI is to tell and disseminate the truth about the Iraq War..."

-from the Declaration of the Jury of ConscienceThis book is that testimony, expertly introduced by activist MŸge GŸrsoy Sškmen, Booker Prize winner and peace activist Arundhati Roy, and the noted human rights scholar Richard Falk. As Roy notes in her introduction, this is an attempt to "correct the record-to document the history of the war not from the point of view of the victors but of the temporarily-and I repeat the word "temporarily"-vanquished." Every aspect of the war is examined-from its legality, to the effects of cluster bombs and depleted uranium, to its ecological impact, to the history of US and British military interventions of Iraq, to the role of international institutions and corporations in the occupation, to the use of torture, and to strategies of resistance. Contributors include: Arundhati Roy ¥ Richard Falk ¥ Phil Shiner ¥ Hans von Sponeck ¥ Larry Everest ¥ Jim Harding ¥ Amy Bartholomew ¥ Issa Shivji ¥ Anthony Alessandrini ¥ Baskõn Oran ¥ Khaled Fahmy ¥ Guglielmo Carchedi ¥ Walden Bello ¥ Saul Landau ¥ David Miller ¥ Mete ‚ubuku ¥ Jayan Nayar ¥ …mer Madra ¥ Dahr Jamail ¥ Akira Maeda, Sayo Saruta, Koichi Inamori ¥ Thomas Fasi ¥ Denis Halliday ¥ Hana Ibrahim ¥ Eman Khammas ¥ Tim Goodrich ¥ Amal Sawadi ¥ Fadhil al-Bedrani ¥ Herbert Docena ¥ Mohammed al-Rahoo ¥ Abdul Ilah al-Bayaty ¥ Niloufer Bhagwat ¥ Nermin al-Mufti ¥ Barbara Olcshansky ¥ Rana M. Mustafa ¥ Abdul Wahab Al Obeidi ¥ Johan Galtung ¥ GŸl Pulhan ¥ Amal al-Khedairy ¥ Joel Kovel ¥ Souad Naji Al-Azzawi ¥ Ay_e GŸl Altõnay ¥ Nadje Al-Ali ¥ Liz Fekete ¥ Samir Amin ¥ Ahmad Mohamed al-Jaradat ¥ Wamidh Nadhmi ¥ John Ross ¥Christine Chinkin ¥ Ken Coates ¥ Corrine Kumar ¥ Biju Matthew ... Read more

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Critical analysis on India's nuclear policy. ... Read more

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The screenplay of this moving, funny and unusual film is published here for the first time, together with over thirty stills and a witty, nostalgic preface in which Arundhati Roy writes about the making of the film, its relevance today and its significance in the development of her art and her politics. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Fun screenplay of an obscure film
Based on recommendations from friends of Indian film institute, I ordered this screenplay and thourughly enjoyed reading it. It was just very funny, quirky and rebuilds a college atmosphere, which many of us, in particular Delhiites would relate to. I gather that this film was screened one time on doordarshan late at night before disappearing into oblivion. The original record is probably lost by now... which is too bad. Thankfully the screenplay exists and can be bought over Amazon.

Awesome movie, great script
Having seen the movie many years ago and loved it, the script was bound to be a winner too. Its unpretentious, funny as hell, and very evocative of the quirkiness in any college atmosphere anywhere anytime (though it's set in the 70s in New Delhi's School of Planning & Architecture). ... Read more

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With reference to India. ... Read more

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Article on Sardar Sarovar (Narmada) Project. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Critical and insightful
The complex indian "democracy" explained very well. Usual disregard for poor dalits and tribal people in these vastly obscene power structures and polarized societies is shown with chilling effects.

The ecological and social catastophic affects of building Dams are presented with emperical evidences with some emotional side of conserving the intangible which will be submerged or lost forever.

Being a fiction writer Arundhati had that creative touch with which she brings out that disturbing human suffering of millions of poor people whose lives are being lost in every sense due to such gigantic projects which crushes everything in their path.

Worth a read to understand how lack of research on projects of such mammoth proportions can cause so much damage to eco systems and in turn to people.

Extremistic opinion
The author uses the power of her language beautifully to potray the problems associated with Dams. Though she claims NOT to be a city-basher, if one goes by the text of the book, she does seem one. For every"statistic" she has mentioned in the book, there could be an"anti-statistic". If what she claims is true, then Land which iscovered under an irrigation project as a result of a Dam is doomed. TheNarmada dam which is one of the main targets in the book when ready isbound to solve the drought problem if and when ready. While one has toagree with the facts mentioned by her, it is ridiculous to take such anextremistic view of Dams.

Different and excellent
It is rare to find such a beautifull combination of prose and protest. The subject is the construction of dams on rivers in India and the effect they have on the people and enviroment. Sounds dry, i know, but Roy magicallyturns this into a touching living story.

This is a very short book, buta very important one. It speaks about things far beyond it's obvioussubject, showing the opression of the single by the goverment and role wehave in stopping this maddness. ... Read more