Book Launch - Voice of the Runes by Manjiri Prabhu
‘Voice of The Runes’, the 13th novel of Pune-based acclaimed author and Founder/Director of Pune International Literary Festival, Dr. Manjiri Prabhu, was launched in New Delhi by noted author and MP Dr. Shashi
Tharoor on 17th December
2018. Well-known author, art critic and cultural theorist Dr.
Alka Pande, presided over the event, who was later in conversation with Dr. Prabhu and Dr. Tharoor. The event took place in the prestigious India International Centre, New Delhi. ‘Voice of The Runes’ is a Mystery-Thriller story taking place in Lund city of Sweden, unfolding in 36 hours. The uniqueness of the novel is that, though being a book by an Indian writer, it has no Indian characters and the authenticity of the characters, the events, the plot and the milieu is as good as written by an insider. Speaking about Dr. Prabhu’s books and writing style, Dr. Tharoor said, “Manjiri is an intrepid writer because she has ventured into places Indian writers haven’t ventured to, both geographically and into the realm of international thriller writing. She is about
Dr. Shashi Tharoor Launched the book by Manjiri Prabhu, 'Voice of the Runes on 17th December in Delhi
the only one in India to do this and has ventured out in an intrepid fashion. Manjiri's books will help preserve the appeal of the mystery and thriller medium to lots of readers. Basically what Manjiri is trying to do is write extensively, at a pace, concoct an interesting plot and put it together in a way that will capture the imagination of the reader”. Commenting about the female voice of writer, Dr. Tharoor further said, “Prabhu writes about the emotions of the female character, their motivations and drive with an insight that perhaps only a woman writer could have brought” He further added, “Most thriller writers tend to be men and one would argue that their most female characters tend to be twodimensional and that is one advantage Manjiri has. She does put herself in the mind and emotion of the female character”. While conversing with Dr. Manjiri Prabhu and Dr. Shashi Tharoor, Dr. Alka Pande congratulated Manjiri on being a crackling story-teller. She said, its an unput-down-able book. Manjiri is writing in a genre which is a kind of cosmopolitan and there are various connections like the runes, astrology, myth, magic with are on a parallel trajectory.
While talking about her novel,
Dr. Prabhu explained her genre of Destination Thrillers series of which ‘The Trail of four’ was the first novel based in Salzburg, Austria and ‘Voice of The runes’ is the second one based in Lund, Sweden. Re Parkar, a Paris-based investigative journalist is the main protagonist in this series.
The event was wellattended by literary enthusiasts and avid readers in Delhi. The novel is published by internationally famous publishers ‘ Bloomsbury’. The novel is available in all major stores and online portals like Amazon.