Here, we sit down with Cauvery Madhavan to discuss beloved literary titles, writing process, and the overheard conversation at a kitchen table that planted the seed for what would become her new title, The Inheritance, 20 years later.
Born and educated in India, Cauvery Madhavan moved to Ireland thirty-three years ago and has been in love with the country ever since. Previous titles by Cauvery include Paddy Indian, The Uncoupling, and The Tainted.
Her newly released novel, The Inheritance, is set in 1986 when a 29-year-old Marlo O’Sullivan of London-Irish stock finds out that his sister is his mother. To steady his life, he moves to Glengarriff, to a cottage he has inherited, in the stunning Beara Peninsula.
When a neighbour dies unexpectedly, Marlo takes over his minibus service to Cork. There is nothing regular about the regulars on the bus – especially Sully, a non-verbal six-year-old, who goes nowhere but does the journey back and forth every day on his own. Marlo is landed with this strange but compassionate arrangement, fashioned to give the child’s mother respite from his care. Sully’s obsession with an imaginary friend in the ancient oak forests of Glengarriff slowly unveils its terrible secrets as a 400-hundred-year-old tragedy reveals itself.
Did you always want to be a writer? Tell us about your journey to becoming a published author.
Being a voracious reader as a child was definitely the start of my writing journey. My parents plied us with books and I read like there was no tomorrow. My first foray into writing was for school and college magazines. When I graduated from university, I worked as a copywriter in an ad agency and continue to read across every genre. I was 42 when I was first published and have loved every moment of the roller coaster journey.
What inspired you to start writing?
I am naturally a very curious person and I think that is what made me want to write. Once you have a story to tell, it’s curiosity about your characters, the times and places they live in, that makes you hone your craft. I love the research that is involved in writing — it can take you to unexpected places!
Tell us about your new book, The Inheritance. Where did the idea come from?
The Inheritance is set in the Beara Peninsula in West Cork. The kernel of the idea came from an overheard conversation at a kitchen table and I stewed on it for 20 years. Set in 1986, the story centres around a young man of London Irish stock who inherits a cottage in Glengarriff, coming to Ireland at a time when most young men are leaving the country. A thread from the 1600s drawing on the historic Long March of O’Sullivan Beare and runs through the book. The two stories, though separated by 400 years, are tied together as my characters seek their identities and find peace as they come to terms with loss and the power of forgiveness.
What do you hope this book instils in the reader?
Hope and the ultimate joy that springs from it. I’d love for readers to get to know this hidden history of O’Sullivan Beare’s time in the forests of Glengarriff – enough to want to walk and explore the longest way marked trail in Ireland, the stunning Beara-Breifne Way.
What did you learn when writing this book?
It was a refresher course in the attitudes of the 80s! Ireland was altogether a different country. Research taught me a lot of history and geography too! The Tudor conquest of Ireland was extremely cruel and our landscape played a huge role in shaping the outcome of the struggle. Reading about the flora and fauna of Beara opened up a whole new window into the effects of climate change on the coast of Ireland and how invasive species like rhododendrons are the most terrible of beauties.
Tell us about your writing process?
I’m always full of good intentions to write a little every day, but of course I don’t — life gets in the way. So my writing can be a bit chaotic but my best work is done in Beara itself. Solitary early morning golf gives me plenty of thinking time and exercise in one go. I never plot my novels and trust entirely in the voices of my characters to take me wherever they want. So writing by headlights is my method – I can see two pages ahead but not any further!
Where do you draw inspiration from?
Observing people and places – that’s my inspiration.
What are your top three favourite books of all time, and why?
A Fine Balance by Rohington Mistry. Set in Mumbai, India a very compassionate but visceral telling of hope in the depths of despair.
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. I loved how she laid bare the utter arrogance of religious colonialism through the prism of very believable fictional characters.
The Prophet by Khalil Gibran. I dip into my 40 year old copy often and always find some wisdom to dwell on.
Who are some of your favourite authors, Irish or otherwise?
Amitav Ghosh, Kate O’Brien, Anita Desai, John McGahern, Donal Ryan, William Trevor and William Dalrymple.
What are some upcoming book releases we should have on our radar?
I’m looking forward to Arundhati Roy’s memoir and Too Soon by Betty Shamieh.
What book made you want to become a writer?
A Fine Balance by Rohington Mistry.
What’s one book you would add to the school curriculum?
Strange Flowers by Donal Ryan.
What’s the best book you’ve read so far this year?
Ghost Mountain by Ronan Hession.
What’s some advice you’ve got for other aspiring writers?
Read as much as you can, in every genre you can and then when you do start writing – aim for a page a day. You’ll have your first draft in a year!
Lastly, what do the acts of reading and writing mean to you?
I’m at my happiest when I’m writing and reading is the only tool I have to hone my craft. Together they make me the person I am.
The Inheritance by Cauvery Madhavan, published by Hope Road, is on sale now.
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