Author Salman Rushdie helped the 2015 Booker Prize winning writer Marlon James liberate his voice as a writer and "exploded" his perceptions on writing, the Jamaican novelist said today.
"Rushdie's 'Shame' changed everything. It was the book that changed my narrow perception of how to write a novel. It exploded what I considered to be the rules of writing fiction," James said on the sidelines of the ongoing Jaipur Literature Festival here.
The author said writings by the British Indian novelist Rushdie, who had won a Booker for his "Midnight's Children" helped him liberate his writerly voice, which he claimed had been straight-jacketed through reading Victorian literature like "Middlemarch" while growing up.
"Reading Salman liberated my voice as a writer in the same way as Kafka and Marquez liberated Salman's rise," the 45 year-old author who has published three novels said.
On his maiden visit to India, James had in a Facebook post ranted about problems he encountered in the airport.
However, the author soon put his initial hiccups away and said he loved the streets of Jaipur.
"I think a lot of people think I am judging a country by its airport, and I am like you haven't seen my country's airport. There are crappy airports everywhere. In fact I have been to beautiful airports in horrible cities! Its been great, wonderful.
"I absolutely love Jaipur.I went to the Wind palace (Hawa Mahal) yesterday, it was incredible. And just being on those streets is amazing. I might do some shopping today.
A huge fan of Bob Marley, James who lives in the US has in
his Booker winning novel "The Brief History of Killings" re-imagined the real-life assassination attempt on the Caribbean singer.
However, James said he was devastated by the recent death of English singer-songwriter David Bowie who he said had played a big role in helping him finding his writer's voice.
At one of the sessions at JLF, James came dressed in a violet T shirt with 'Bowie' written in capital across it.
"I am a huge David bowie fan. I actually spent the whole day he died crying," James said.
With most of his first visit to India spent in giving a flurry of interviews, a tired-looking James talked about how the music of Bowie helped him in tide over a tough phase.
"Bowie influenced how I lived in the world. Being true to myself and being true to art and realising that those of us who were nerds and freaks and outcasts and looked upon poorly in any way, we have our own life and our own art and own glamour and our own beauty and we can be proud of ourselves and be ourselves at all times," James said.
The late singer had such a larger than life impact on his life, that the Jamaica-born author said he probably "cried more during Bowie's death than my dad's death."
James, who said his work was rejected by publishers 78 times, said he did not deal with failures very well.
"I clearly did not deal with rejection very well. I wish I had a tale of perseverance but I do not have it. I have had people complaining about two rejections, and I am like excuse me, I got rejected 78 times. I hope other writers look at it as a sign that you have to believe in yourself. Its just how the industry is" the author said.
