Andaleeb Wajid’s new novel Mirror, Mirror depicts a young girl’s journey to acceptance and self-love while dealing with a late pregnancy in the family. In this coming-of-age story, the protagonist, Ananya, is on her way to becoming the Ananya of her dreams, but she’s still a work in progress.
Here, the author who has previously written bestsellers such as Asmara’s Summer, My Brother’s Wedding and No Time for Goodbyes, tells us more about the fiction work and how children’s literature has offered her new perspectives.
How did you come up with the idea for this book?
I think the idea of a young girl beset by insecurities because of her weight kind of seeped into my head without me realising it fully. I think youngsters, especially at that age, resent changes around them, and yet they want to change everything about themselves, and I wanted to capture that. The story was originally about a young girl whose life changes over a sum mer, quite like my other book Asmara’s Summer, but it evolved into a larger story that spanned Ananya’s mother’s pregnancy and also helped in her self-realisation.
What are the challenges of writing for children?
There are plenty of challenges and I think it’s definitely harder than writing for adults. For one, I have to make sure the voice of my protagonist is accurate. I used to think of myself as being 17 in my head, but that’s no longer true and the world when I was 17 is no longer the same world, today. So, to get into the skin of a young adult, to understand what their fears and dreams are, is certainly not easy.
Tell us about your next book.
I am currently working on a fantasy novel. I am quite excited about it, and I have been planning it for the past two years but I got down to working on it, just this year. Writing a fantasy is an entirely different experience - it’s exhilarating and frightening at the same time.
In what ways writing for children has impacted your life?
I think it has given me a lot of empathy and an understanding of what children want. I have loved interacting with children at various literature festivals and they have consistently surprised me with their sharp insight and their curiosity.
MIRROR, MIRROR
By Andaleeb Wajid
Publisher: Duckbill (PenguinRandom House)
Price: Rs 250
Pages: 280