Malayalam writer Paul Zacharia on his novel ‘True Story of a Writer, a Philosopher and a Shape-Shifter’, the perpetual need for revising a text and navigating bilingualism
Published on: Aug. 16, 2025, 9:45 a.m. | Source: The Indian Express
Paul Zacharia, a renowned Malayalam writer, recently published his first novel in English, True Story of a Writer, a Philosopher and a Shape-Shifter, a revised version of his 2019 debut, The Secret History of Compassion. The novel's plot centers on the struggles of bestselling author Lord Spider, who, along with his wife Dr. Rosi and collaborator J.L. Pillai, attempts to write an essay on compassion. Their chaotic, speculative, and humorous journey blurs the lines between fiction and non-fiction, incorporating tall tales and myths to comment on the compromises people make to find meaning in a seemingly meaningless world. Zacharia, who sees rewriting as an opportunity to sharpen a text, found that writing in English provided a sense of creative freedom and a "wealth of possibilities." He remains optimistic about India's multilingual future and believes that Indian languages have become stronger over time. The novel ultimately suggests that while life's challenges are significant, the end is not yet here, and there is still hope to be found.
