13 Men: an author investigates gang rape in an Indian village

Sonia Faleiro tells Nikita Lalwani why – and how – she set about writing her unsparing account of a shocking crime in West Bengal

In Cold Blood, Truman Capote’s iconic non-fiction novel, was described upon its publication in 1966 as “‘remarkable for its objectivity – nowhere, despite his involvement, does the author intrude”. This same spirit of true-crime inquiry without comment is an impressive feature of 13 Men, the haunting new ebook by the journalist Sonia Faleiro.

The past six decades have seen many question Capote’s objectivity, some suggesting the writer “had a fact here, and a fact there, and filled in the gaps with literary licence”, but as you read 13 Men, you get the sense that Faleiro is religious about conveying the facts she has unearthed, however uncomfortable and unsatisfying they may be in narrative terms. The result is a work that requests a reader’s intervention rather than presenting an authorial one: you are forced to bring yourself to the table, with all of your prejudices, as you read.

Related: Village 'justice' in West Bengal: 'This is our way. We don't go to the police'

Continue reading...