Finally, a breather after the endless Johnny interviews to write my first blog post. A lot has been written about both Johnny Gone Down and Keep off the Grass already so I will try not to use this space for self-promotion (there is always Facebook and Orkut for that!). Well, except for this first post, that is )- For I’ve been sincerely overwhelmed with the response to Johnny so I think a word of gratitude is in due order.

What has perhaps been missed in the extensive interviews about “45K books sold in a week” and newspaper/magazine reviews about the “eccentric, incredulous” story is how personal a novel Johnny is for me. As I read reader e-mails and blog reviews though, I think you got it! And in all honesty, that means more to me than the illusory five minutes of fame that an author gets in the IPL-Rakhi Sawant driven media. Eventually, I think one writes for a feeling of connection; that strong, very personal bond that the author and an annonymous reader develop in the rare case when the book and the reader connect completely and the reader feels their own emotional journey in the story even if the protagonist’s situational context is completely different.

Hence, I’m touched that so many of you related to Johnny Gone Down so personally. His story is mine in many ways. While I’m not a genocide survivor, a Buddhist monk, a drug lord or a software millionaire, I’ve experienced the protagonist’s displacement and loss. I have been a grateful recipient of the same unconditional friendship and love that he experiences across borders. The Second Life portion of the book has received the most polarizing reviews, but I’ve been through a similiar (if not as dramatic) phase of withdrawing completely from the world and seeking refuge in silence.  His struggles with Buddhism, spirituality & meaning are real because they’ve been mine for the last ten years. The simplistic answer I’ve given in interviews is that my love for travel influenced Johnny’s incredible intercontinental journal but the truth is more layered. His travels are the superficial part of the story; his emotional journey is the essence of the novel. 

I’m touched that my readers get it, and even as critics and smarter people than myself dissect the structure, language and logic of the novel, I’m sure your support will keep Johnny going up!