Author Sunil Writes An Ode To Human Condition With Song of the Whale

Sunil MS

Author Sunil MS, who is popular for his short fiction writings, recently launched his debut novel, Song of the Whale, the story of a mysterious whale haunting the city of Bangalore. Its deep, surreal song calls out to the Listeners every night. The book explores the stories of various characters through their common quest for the source of this mysterious whale song. They include a woman who is in love with her dead father, a one-armed professor who is searching for the 52-Hz whale, and an answer to John Donne's poem, as well as a nameless man who is trying to remember the face of his mother. The story ricochets between many fronts i.e., illusion, past, future, and memories.

The book's unique plotline has many rushing to the bookstore to get a copy for themselves. This interesting story came about when the writer came across an article that spoke about the 52Hz whale, the world's loneliest whale, which sings at 52Hz (different from all other whales out there). "It deeply affected me. Having suffered from a few mental health issues myself, I started wondering about how the language of those grieving, suffering a loss or loneliness, changes, deviates from the "accepted". The words, the gestures, the silence, everything changes shape, mutates to the point that it is not recognizable anymore," said Sunil MS. He added that the book tries to explore some of these themes.

One can notice how the author empathizes with those who hold great sorrows in the Song of the Whale. The struggles of the characters that include mental illness, loss, and loneliness are beautifully penned down by the author. "We are all impatient these days, and in the process never stand still and truly listen. I hope the stories of the people in the book and their struggles, will make one recognize similar people (friends, family, strangers) in real life, to stand still and listen to their songs without judgment," expressed Sunil on why his debut novel meant so much to him. In a way, it's an ode to all those who suffer.

Writing his first novel wasn't an easy task for Author Sunil MS. Like most first-time writers, he found himself faced with a lot of insecurities, self-doubt & more. "There's always this nagging voice in your head that says, "it's not good enough". It is extremely difficult to get past this while writing. I sat and listened to this incessant, nagging voice for days and months but kept writing through it all anyway. Eventually, it was nothing but a background score, a white noise. I can still hear it by the way," explained the debut novelist.

In spite of all this, Sunil ended up exploring a wonderful journey while writing this book. He explained how writing this book required a lot of courage to reach a part of oneself that is vulnerable and open it to the rest of the world. "To express anything with honesty, truthfully, one must find that strength to draw from those pools of joys and sorrows of your life and not feel threatened by exposure. It is easy to express joy but takes a lot to share your sorrows," admitted Sunil.

Before releasing his debut novel, Sunil MS was listed in the ‘Top 10 Short Fiction Writers' by DNA- Out of Print in 2017. Some of his short fiction work can be found in the DNA India newspaper, Out of Print, and Bangalore Review. Initially, he wrote narrative poems, which evolved into flash fiction, short stories, until he finally released his first novel. It took the author four years to complete Song of the Whale; four years that included a lot of heartaches, panic attacks, therapy, and alcohol.

Sunil hails from Dharwad, Karnataka, where he grew up on a steady diet of books by Stephen King, Edgar Allan Poe, Haruki Murakami, Franz Kafka, and Albert Camus. "As a kid, I used to ride around my hometown a lot on my bicycle, trying to stay away from home. I was 12-year-old when I discovered an obscure public library & picked Stephen King and eventually fell in love with books. I have been a constant reader since then," recalled Sunil.

As an avid reader, he encourages fellow upcoming novelists and writers to constantly keep reading. "With whatever little (a decade and a half) writing experience I have, I can say this - to be a good writer, one must be a good reader. Read anything and everything but read with intent. Observe everything around you and inside you. Read, observe, keep writing," advises Sunil. His recommendations for aspiring writers include Reading Like a Writer by Francine Prose and On Writing by Stephen King.

Song of the Whale, written by author Sunil MS & published by Leadstart Publishing, is an interesting read that is 178 pages long and is priced at Rs.200/- only and is available in Paperback & E-book format.