Literary agents are forever asking for something fresh and new. They know that the plot or the story won't be something never seen before. Every story has been told, and countless times. The key is to find a fresh and new way to re-tell what has been done previously.
Vikram Chandra has done just that, and earned a seven figure advance in the process. Note that he is NOT a first time author, and has a record of success to back up the acquisition folks at HarperCollins. He comes from a long line of highly educated and well-connected people, with relatives in the film industry. He's no neophyte.
Sacred Games is the newest release from the Indian author who lives and teaches in Berkeley. Read the story line and you'll immediately think of Mario Puzo and his famous Godfather books. Going up-close and personal, taking the reader into a mobster's inner circle, the well researched crime novels from both authors share some striking similarities.
The freshness of Mr. Chandra's tome comes from a change of location. Instead of the Mafia held territories of New York, his crime bosses hail from Mumbai. Similar to Puzo's technique, Chandra approached and interviewed mobsters, who were as happy to share their delightful anecdotes as their Italian-American counterparts. The result is a certain authenticity, the addition of things that an author just couldn't make up.
The bidding war for the rights to publish this hefty, over nine hundred page opus, is no indication that the book is on the verge of winning the Booker or even the Nobel. HarperCollins believes that Sacred Games has what it takes to make money -- sex, cops, mobsters, corruption and plenty of action. It's a Godfather or a Goodfellas spiced with asofoetida, an old story with a different twist.
"Leave the gun. Take the kalakand."
Can an HBO series be far behind?
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