Everything the Light Touches

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Thanks Ruggie. I'm mad at you but I know you mean well. In your own weird Ruggie-way. I'll see you off at the mirrors tomorrow, right?" Pariat opts for words that are solitary and calming but when pondered deeply one feels the diverse emotions that describe a void and a quest to quench it. One begins to appreciate the little things, that always existed and added value to life without being noticed. Witty and subtly transcendental, at its core this book weaves relationships of man and nature and man with himself and those around while striving to fulfill a purpose, a calling that calms the mind and balms the heart. The novel unfurls gently, carrying us from the present deeper into the past, allowing threads of narrative to grow, mutate, interlace and unravel. Like nature itself, the stories are difficult to contain. Pariat’s landscapes, deftly woven with layered detail, reflect a melancholy that has become synonymous with the Anthropocene: the sadness with which we view all natural things of beauty. Her language is gentle, her prose elegant—but her words pierce through to the deepest places of the heart. Lush and layered. ... There’s an abundance of lush details of northeastern India, and the smooth synthesis of ideas and narrative keeps everything together. This is a feast" — Publishers Weekly There are very few stories that can make you think beyond the book and see a world from a different lens, and this one does just that. The 4 stories are set across time and places and present a picture that is unique yet intimately connected through the thread of the idea of the world we live in. As I started reading the book and encountered Shai’s story, my mind started forming a notion of what the book could be, and then as I moved on to Evelyn’s story, it was a completely different frame, and that was something I really loved about the book, the fact that it tells you a story which is the characters’ own and uninhibited story of their being and their reason for following the light. Focusing on the aspect of nature and the quest of finding an enigma, each of the characters ultimately lead a journey that puts them on a journey where they rediscover themselves.

The author has a beautiful prose style which manages to be accessible and easy to read whilst at the same time being poetic . Gilded gold claws continue tapping against the writing desk, playing an unknown song to you. Or, knowing the person with those claws, it’s likely a made-up tune the Headmage came up with in the moment. But you should’ve remembered that the headmage isn’t fully human and could hear your co-student with those pointed ears of his, “Yes! Yes, there’s no need for you two to be in as deep of despair as I am, oh aren’t I so sensitive to my students' feelings?” You just stirred your drink. Should I tell him? He wouldn’t go around telling everyone, especially if he thinks he could find a way to lord it over my head… Well, it should be alright if one person knows, he could know a few tips on surviving a few nights alone on campus.The door is then promptly slammed onto your ass, and Grim’s nose, propelling the both of you forward. It is difficult to describe or summarise the book, for it is unlike anything I've read before; the story takes you across centuries and continents, and introduces you to a vast range of people, from Edwardian botanists to indigenous people, and Wolfgang Goethe himself. If i had to describe my experience of reading it, I would say it was like a soothing balm applied at the end of a tiring day. Did Crowley now know about Azul’s plans for Mostro Lounge 2? Does he pay attention at all to what happens at this school? Janice Pariat: Pranay Lal’s Indica: A Deep Natural History of the Indian Subcontinent, Merlin Sheldrake’s Entangled Life, Robin Kimmerer’s Braiding Sweetgrass, Robert Macfarlane’s Underland, Sharmistha Mohanty’s Extinctions. Each of these in their own way offers us long perspectives, deep contexts, and geological timelines that teach us humility and gratitude, that place us and our species right where we belong, in the small, the fleeting, the joyful, the miraculous. Kunzum: What are you working on next?

We sat down with the writer to know more about the characters, settings, metaphors, and meanings of her wonderful book. Excerpts below. A Conversation with Janice Pariat Kunzum: The Nine-Chambered Heartexplored the themes of identity and perception, Seahorseretold a Greek myth. What made you centre this book around botany? Pariat calls her novel “a deeply political work”. The story brings alive the landscape of Meghalaya, its sacred forests, verdant hills, caves and streams, where the threat of extractivism looms large upon Indigenous communities. The book carries a strong motif of connecting with the larger world through movement and travel, what one of the characters calls “being more in the world”. It poignantly depicts the Nongiaid, a fictional nomadic tribe, and their disappearance after they are forced by the state to settle down. “The Nongiaid formed as one of these very important elem-ents that speaks very directly to this tussle between fixity and fluidity. They are the unsettled, wayward, wild, unruly and untamed that the Linnaean way of seeing is constantly trying to suppress, isolate, manipulate, tame, get rid of, and eliminate. This shows up in the larger context of our nation because you cannot speak of the Northeast, you cannot set a story there, no matter how wonderfully, beautifully, unnecessarily frivolous, without in some way alluding to this. That it is a region that is sacrificed so immensely to the larger nation-building project.” But, instead of turning tail and running like most students do, they just crossed their arms in front of their chest. Then smirked. “Rude response to the one who saved both of your lives. Maybe you should try being nicer to me.” And that subtlety, that ‘go a beat faster here, go a beat slower here,’ all of that is music, literally you’re composing a feeling that your brain says, ‘Okay, I got it,’ when you see the appropriate take, and you print that take, and it goes in the movie. And it’s so different than the plotting the CG version of it, which has no life.The book has a lyrical prose with a philosophical bent that is explained using the language of botany. The characters' individual journeys evoke a sense of purpose and belonging that is connected like a network of roots under the ground – invisible on the surface but a source of strength and nourishment. Everything the Light Touches is published by HarperCollins. For more on Goethean science see: tinyurl.com/goethean-science Reading a chunky and immersive story not once but twice in two months is extremely rare for me. Janice Pariat’s Everything The Light Touches holds that kind of power over me.

Just do exactly what you did before! I truly appreciate how honest you are with your feelings on this predicament, dearest prefect. Anyways. Byeeee~!”

Hey hey hey! Where are we supposed to stay until then? I’m a growing Master Mage, I need plenty of room to stretch my legs at!” Grim spats out as he tries to climb your shoulder. You wince a bit at the claws that dig into the skin under your shirt, and try to hold onto Grim while he looks at the man that has now pushed you at the door’s threshold.