Nikesh Shukla and racism in the UK at Rochdale Literature & Ideas Festival

Nikesh Shukla discussed his third novel ‘The One Who Wrote Destiny’ on Tuesday (16 October) as the second day of Rochdale’s Literature and Ideas Festival went underway.

Hosted at Rochdale Pioneers Museum on Toad Lane, 20 people attended the intimate session as Nikesh read extracts from his latest coming-of-age fiction, as well as signing copies, answering audience questions and describing his journey as a writer and social commentator.

Speaking about ‘The One Who Wrote Destiny’ that was published in April, Mr Shukla said: “This novel is very very dear to me. I started working on it at the age of 19, in 1999, when I was studying Law at university. I was so determined to write the greatest British novel.

“My uncle was the first person from my family to move to the UK from Aden in 1962. He moved with the dream of living and working in London but ended up in Keighley as it was hard for people of colour to find somewhere to live.

“Eventually, my whole family moved over and by 1965 the Race Relations Act was introduced and aimed to address racial discrimination… My uncle was the first person to bring forward a case under this act. In 1968, a company still wouldn’t sell him a house as their policy stated, ‘not to sell to coloured people’, which by then was illegal.

“Inspired by his real-life experiences, I wanted to portray what racism was like in the UK then and is like now and explore why people move - for a better job, a better life and for family.”

 

 

The One Who Wrote Destiny is told in four parts, with three generations of the same family telling their stories and interlinking with the other. The British-Asian family tell of inequality, poverty, loneliness, trauma, intergenerational relationships and immigration.

Shukla added: “Seeing yourself as a character in a positive representation can be life changing. Fiction is my way of wrestling with real life problems.

“I persisted with this book for so long - even though I got it wrong many times and put it aside to write other novels - because I wanted to push myself as a writer and interrogate the things that bother me like diversity and popular culture in modern day.

“I finally realised when I got the book right that it didn’t matter what point I was trying to make, it was about developing and falling in love with the characters and telling their stories to the world.”

Nikesh Shukla last visited the festival in 2016 to discuss his previous novel ‘The Good Immigrant’ in which a variety of British writers of colour discuss their experiences and issues of race and immigration in the UK.

Those attending, who have both finished reading the novel or are making their way through, commented on how the book contains ‘some uncomfortable truths but is just as beautiful as it is heart-breaking’ and hope for The Good Immigrant sequel post-Brexit.

Councillor Janet Emsley, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods, Community & Culture, said: “This event has been excellent as always. Nikesh continues to fly ‘the good immigrant’ flag, working to change perceptions and allowing voices to be heard.

“When we focus on equality in society, people tend to solely focus on STEM subjects and how women should become more involved with science, engineering and technology, but after today, I’m thinking that maybe we should focus more on the Arts and the position of women here too.”

Nikesh has set up various initiatives that provide opportunities for underrepresented writers; he created the Jhalak Prize which focuses on recognising and awarding the best writers of colour in the UK.

His recent novel ‘The One Who Wrote Destiny’ is currently being developed for screens by the BBC.