Moore thought this was a unique device to use to begin his novel. It took Moore nearly a decade to finish the novel. Along the way, he faced rejections from top publishing houses like Penguin and Random House. Jeffrey Moore is a writer of rare elegance and wit, not averse to slapstick when it suits his purpose. Following is excerpts of the talk we had with him.
Translation is a relatively neglected aspect of literature.
There are instances where translators are considered more like the members of an orchestra, where musicians don't go by the language of the music, but interpret it as music per se. As far as the effect of being a translator on my work is concerned, well, for that, you would have to go through my novel, Prisoner in a Red-Rose Chain. The book deals with various cultures and currents. I come from a city, which comprises not only the English and French speaking population, but also a large number of Anglo-Indians. These diverse traits have found their way into my book and in doing so, I had to familiarise myself with a lot of translations.