Do cities like Berlin, where history weighs heavily, lead to disorientation, as felt by Sojourn's protagonist?
The state of absorption is what is of primary value and importance to me. What I was playing with was the idea that the narrator goes to Berlin and becomes absorbed in a lot of what he's seeing. The absorption causes a kind of wavering in the distinctions he would ordinarily-among them, between being an Indian and being a European. So, absorption becomes a form of surrender. [In] those unlikely moments, where he is recognizing places, as if he belonged there... he begins to become so much part of [Berlin's] history, which he has forgotten, that he begins to lose himself. He begins to lose that sense of who he is.
But how important was the city of Berlin to the story of Sojourn?
I've written about cities all my life. I am now investigating [in this novel] a paradoxical history, which is not sufficiently defined by the historical definitions we are conscious of, and by which we define ourselves. Those have to be put aside in such an encounter. So, it's not a question about thinking about Berlin first or my character first: I'm looking at a moment of historical change that's long been present for me. I began to write A Strange and Sublime Address in 1986, and by then I would have sensed that a particular world, the world of modernity, was already passing. By the time the book was published in 1991, we had emerged into this new world, the Berlin Wall had just fallen and economic deregulation had taken place. So, this is a kind of moment in which to recollect what happened to us, to me, through this story about the city.
You write that "when freedom is the only reality, you are no longer free". So, when are you really free?
This story is from the November 2022 edition of Reader's Digest India.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the November 2022 edition of Reader's Digest India.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Have Child, Will Travel
Bringing my kid on my around-the-world adventures helped me see her in new and unexpected ways
As Gods Among Us
A photographer explores the gamut of India’s ritual performers who embody deities as a form of worship
My stutter, Myself
If others don't notice my stutter, can I really call myself a stutterer?
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Modification
A Queensland mechanic customizes bikes so veterans can get riding again
I Tried It...Exercises to Relieve Tech Neck
I STARE AT MY phone for five hours a day.
The Upside of Getting Lost
I was in the woods with my family and we'd lost our way. My phone was dead. It was getting dark. How could this possibly be a good thing?
A MOTHER'S CONVICTION
AFTER ALL FOUR OF KATHLEEN FOLBIGG'S CHILDREN DIED IN INFANCY, A COURT FOUND HER GUILTY OF MURDER. TWENTY YEARS LATER, SCIENCE FINALLY UNCOVERED THE TRUTH
KITT THE COURAGEOUS K-9
Officer Bill Cushing needed a partner. His dog needed a purpose. Together, they rescued each other
Lite, Unplugged
Could you get through seven days without looking at a device? I tried—here’s what happened
GET A GREEN(ER) THUMB
Whether you love digging in the dirt, planting seeds and reaping the bounty that bursts forth, or find the whole idea of gardening intimidating, this spring offers the promise of a fresh start.