“THIS IS WHY YOU READ FICTION AT ALL” MINDREADING IN ANURADHA ROY’S THE EARTHSPINNER

Abstract

This paper looks at Anuradha Roy’s The Earthspinner through the prism of the cognitive act of mind reading. The novel is presented to us through a mixture of modes of narration, including journal entries, letters and third person narration The author allows us the illusion of peeping into the minds of the central characters and also captures the dynamics of their attempting to read each other’s minds. The potential for misinterpretation and misunderstanding make this enterprise fraught with anxiety and excitement. Through our understanding of what the author chooses to tell and what she chooses to withhold, we also attempt to read the mind of the writer. In the ultimate analysis this novel nudges us to try to read into our own minds as well. This is what justifies its categorization as literary fiction.