What I Loved

One of the greatest things about reading and falling in love with a book is that invariably, I fall in love with the authors as well. Rohinton Mistry, Lionel Shriver, Wally Lamb, Thrity Umrigar, I think they are wonderful people and I can't wait to meet them. I met Rohinton Mistry at a panel discussion at The Asia Society, just after his last book, Family Matters, had been published. . He was incredibly humble, even modest, shy and quiet. In fact, I do wish he had spoken up a little more. He neatly avoided the question, "What are you working on now?"

I met Thrity Umrigar, who has fast become one of my favorite authors at McNally Jackson Bookstore, representing her latest book at the time, If Today Be Sweet. She was reading from The Space Between Us, which is truly one of the most insightful, honest, real Indian stories I have ever read. She was patient, warm and gracious. I was really impressed by her reading style, which, even if you're a great writer, you're not necessarily a good reader.

So imagine how excited I was when I heard that Jhumpa Lahiri was speaking and reading at McNally Jackson, representing a Mavis Gallant collection of short stories. Mavis Gallant has been an inspiration for Lahiri, and has influenced her writing. Lahiri wrote the introduction to her latest book and was reading a few excerpts from the Gallant collection, as well as signing her own books after the reading. Of course most of the people that showed up were Jhumpa fans, and weren't even sure who this Mavis Gallant was (though, she turned out to be an incredibly talented storyteller). After the reading, everyone lined up to get their books signed. I had brought along my Unaccustomed Earth, as had a handful of others, some of whom had the aforementioned book along with Interpreter of Maladies and The Namesake. Everyone had something short but sweet to say to Jhumpa as we neared the line. But it wasn't well accepted. Her publicity manager told the fans, "No personalized enscriptions, please. Just an autograph." Fine, fair enough. But I didn't expect this:

When I got the front of the line, with my book turned to the correct page for autographs as is the protocol for book signings, I quietly mentioned to her, "You've been such an inspiration."

...

No smile.

No eye contact.

No response.

She signed my book and handed it back to me without even acknowledging my presence.

Now look, lady. You're an incredibly talented writer. And you have a large fan base. And people, including myself, are going to continue buying and reading your books and will anticipate your next venture. But if you're going to be such a little b*tch about meeting your fans, either don't sign books, or don't appear in public. Because let's face it, you've changed a lot of lives, through your writing and your stories and your style that have encouraged people like me, and been inspiring as a successful Indian woman writer (there aren't too many of you). I know you're a mother and you have a husband and you have 1,000 projects going on at the same time. But next time? Please remember that a simple "thank you" and a smile and at the very least, eye contact, is the least you can do for the people that spend $24.95 on your books.