Zach Thomas, born in India but based out of London, is a niche publisher at Litmus, which is trying to survive in the attentions of publishing behemoth Globish Inc., using profits generated by a series of translated novels by little-known Italian author Massimo Seppi, that have become a rage. Seppi dies and leaves Litmus and Zach with the burden of having to dig deep to uncover a last gem by the hit author that might help the firm tide over its crisis. In the meantime, he has to fix his own life too, stagnating in a loveless marriage.
He looks at Seppi’s translator and literary agent, Caryn Bianchi, for help, who after much headbanging, says she has come across a manuscript by Seppi, the last part in his series on angels. Zach travels from London to Toronto, via Delhi and later the Frankfurt Book Fair, in the hope of selling the rights to the book and saving Litmus from hostile takeover.
Thus unfolds Ithaca, an insider’s look into the world of publishing that makes more than a passing reference to all recent headlining events in this world, Seppi’s resemblance to Steig Larsson being one of several. Literary agent David Godwin and author Aravind Adiga, among others, make entrances as Davidar tries to ground his novel in the here and now. With a taut plot and thinly disguised details of the publishing world, one would expect a lot more from this book. In all this, however, the monotonous drone of Davidar’s voice and thin characterisations, instead of emerging as an authorial style, kills the drama and sleepwalks to the climax. Thus, the dilemma faced by publishers everywhere—how to reconcile their love of books with the profit-driven demands of an industry in crisis, as readers turn toward digital media and other mass entertainment—the underlying theme of the novel, fails to take off.
Which is a pity, for with the rich material available with its author, very much the passionate publisher of the novel, a lot more was expected.