At a time when the whole world is speculating about the downfall of the publishing sector, Ithaca by David Davidar is apt. Having backed and worked with writers such as Shobhaa De and Salman Rushdie and been a part of the world of publishing for over two decades, David uses his experiences and expertise in cleverly weaving fiction with subtle hints of reality. This is his third book, after The House of Blue Mangoes and The Solitude of Emperors. Published by HarperCollins, David launched his book at Landmark, Citi Centre, recently. Though he takes a lot from the publishing industry that he knows so well into his book, he says, “It has no resemblance to my career.” He adds, “I have tried to track the changes that the world of publishing is going through and see what the world holds for it. Nobody knows what is going to happen in the next five to 10 years.” The book revolves around the life of the central character Zachariah Thomas, a publisher, and is an account of the international publishing industry as set in the early 21st century. “It is about the journey each one of us has to make and face the circumstances that affect us,” explains David. He points out that he borrows the title from the poem Ithaca by C P Cavafy, which according to him is “one of the greatest poems of the 21st century.” Though he says that a theory that he grapples with is that all books and newspapers might disappear by 2040, he also believes that this is still a good time to invest in publishing in India. “The use of English as a first language is increasing, the book market is expanding and because the markets are growing, people feel that they can take chances,” he says. Answering the omnipresent question of e-reading and publishing taking over, he argues that though his generation might find it difficult to read entire texts on their electronic devices, the younger generation will not miss reading physical books because they began reading their books on their devices and have little or no experience with physical books. His fourth book, he says, might be a much shorter one, considering the number of pages in his books keep reducing. “I don't think length matters, it is the power of the storytelling that matters,” he says.
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