The first fantasy book I remember reading is Tolkien’s classic The Hobbit. Dragons, magic, dwarves, elves, kings, battles — there wasn’t much I didn’t love about it. It set me on a path to reading every kind of fantastical, weird and wonderful piece of literature I could find. It’s an experience many writers in South Asia identify with, something I realised when I interviewed them on my podcast, Arcx (for Dark ’n’ Light ezine).
Reading Tolkien years later, even as a fan, is a different experience. These days I’m cognisant that the father of modern fantasy literature had some fairly skewed views about race. It’s also hard to ignore that The Lord of the Rings featured only three prominent female characters.
Interrogating literature that you grew up consuming is an important part of being a storyteller. And as a result, many South Asian authors have been inspired to write books set in their own countries, featuring customs and characters that are true to their life experiences. For many of us, decolonisation is an ongoing process, and it is increasingly apparent that the reclamation of stories is a big part of that.
