The subtweet :

Select an Action

The subtweet :

Title :

The subtweet : a novel / Vivek Shraya.

Title:

The subtweet :

Varying Form of Title:

Sub tweet

Author:

Shraya, Vivek, 1981-

Format:

Books

Physical Description:

235 pages ; 21 cm

ISBN:

9781770415836

9781770415256

Production / Publication Information:

Toronto : ECW Press, [2020]

General Note:

Original songs from Subtweet available via free download or streaming.

Summary:

"Everyone talks about falling in love, but falling in friendship can be just as captivating. When Neela Devaki's song is covered by internet-famous artist Rukmini, the two musicians meet and a transformative friendship begins. But as Rukmini's star rises and Neela's stagnates, jealousy and self-doubt creep in. With a single tweet, their friendship implodes, one career is destroyed, and the two women find themselves at the center of an internet firestorm. Celebrated multidisciplinary artist Vivek Shraya's second novel is a stirring examination of making art in the modern era, a love letter to brown women, an authentic glimpse into the music industry, and a nuanced exploration of the promise and peril of being seen."--

Bibliography note:

Includes bibliographical references.

Language:

English

Genre:

Psychological fiction.

Subject Term:

Female friendship -- Fiction.

Musicians -- Fiction.

Internet personalities -- Fiction.

Microblogs -- Fiction.

Jealousy -- Fiction.

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Material Type	Library	Call Number	Item Barcode	Location
Book	Searching... Chelmsford Public Library	FIC/SHRAYA	31480011477160	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Hamilton-Wenham Public Library	FIC SHRAYA	30470001812212	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

2021 Dublin Literary Award Finalist
2021 Lambda Literary Awards Finalist for Transgender Fiction
2020 Toronto Book Awards Finalist

" The Subtweet is affecting, unnerving, empowering, and often truly LOL." -- Foreword Reviews , starred review

"A beautifully crafted novel about race, music, and social media." -- Booklist

Includes an exclusive free soundtrack

Celebrated multidisciplinary artist Vivek Shraya's second novel is a no-holds-barred examination of the music industry, social media, and making art in the modern era, shining a light on the promise and peril of being seen.

Indie musician Neela Devaki has built a career writing the songs she wants to hear but nobody else is singing. When one of Neela's songs is covered by internet artist RUK-MINI and becomes a viral sensation, the two musicians meet and a transformative friendship begins. But before long, the systemic pressures that pit women against one another begin to bear down on Neela and RUK-MINI, stirring up self-doubt and jealousy. With a single tweet, their friendship implodes, a career is destroyed, and the two women find themselves at the centre of an internet firestorm.

Reviews (1)

Booklist Review

Shraya, a five-time Lambda Literary Award Finalist and author of I'm Afraid of Men (2018), presents a beautifully crafted novel about race, music, and social media. Neela is an underground Canadian musician who has been striving to be a timeless artist for the past eight years. Despite decent reviews of her music, she remains unsatisfied because her artistry isn't being appreciated the way she wants it to be. Rukmini is a new YouTube singer who quickly rises to fame after singing a cover of one of Neela's songs. The two meet and become friends, but Rukmini continues to rise in popularity with her strong social media presence, while Neela struggles to find her own spotlight. However, one brief subtweet destroys one of the women's careers overnight and sends the internet into a frenzy for all the world to see. In this timely novel, Shraya speaks to a modern audience with bold cultural insight, confronting the difficulties of being a brown artist and the drastic impact social media can have on pop culture.

Excerpts

Neela Devaki was an original. She was reminded of this fact shortly after she stepped out of her cab and into the Fairmont Hotel, the main site for the North by Northeast Festival. Zipping through the masses of musicians, fans and industry reps, she felt sorry for the chandeliers, which loomed above like golden flying saucers, forced to light up the dull networking that buzzed beneath them. But a conversation between two art students, draped in curated thrift wear featuring strategically placed rips and holes, brought Neela to a reluctant halt. "I was totally working on something like this for my final project. I guess originality really is dead," one of the women sighed, taking photos of herself, duck-faced with a pop-up art installation. Neela skimmed the artist's statement. The frosted toothpick statues of penises were "a comment on the current global epidemic of white demasculinization." Why not just hang a red and white flag that said Make Art Great Again? Brevity was the true endangered species. "You should still do it. All the good ideas are taken anyways. Isn't that kind of freeing?" replied the other. Neela snorted. She would never offer that sort of "comfort" to a stunted peer. No wonder she was bored with most of the art she encountered. She considered sharing with these young women that she always knew she was on the verge of invention at the precise moment when originality felt impossible. That instead of surrendering to despair, she would needle in and out and through her brain until an idea surfaced -- naked, stripped of predictability and familiarity. That this process often required her to sing a phrase over and over for hours until the syllables carved their own unique melody out of hollow air. She was certain that the reiteration planted the words in her vocal chords so that when she sang them, they carried the imprint of her body. By embedding herself into her song, she muted any risk of passing off mimicry as art. Why wasn't fully committing to creation more desirable than observing what everyone else was doing and doing the same? But defending the sanctity of originality to strangers at an art exhibit would make her seem like an egomaniac. And no one listens to a cocksure woman. Excerpted from The Subtweet: A Novel by Vivek Shraya All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.