The setting of Sri Lankan author Chhimi Tenduf-La’s new novel, A Hiding to Nothing, is no less than an OTT thriller. It’s gripping, layered and hard to put down till you find out who the killer is and the motive. However, Chhimi’s whodunit goes beyond the tropes of the genre and reveals themes of motherhood, social stigma, identity and secrets of an elite society. Touted as a “domestic thriller” following different timelines, which Chhimi — the author of books like The Amazing Racist and Panther, and a short story collection Loyal Stalkers — attempts for the first time, is laced with his signature humour and setting of Sri Lankan society. A t2oS chat with Chhimi, half Tibetan-half English, who teaches in Colombo and has also written plays. Excerpts.
A Hiding to Nothing is billed as a domestic thriller, yet it also carries an undercurrent of family drama and cultural tension. What was your starting point for the novel?
My process started with the (idea of a) crime, and why the parents were so overprotective of their son and why they did not want to call the police. I then had this at the back of my mind when at the gym, driving, pretending to work, or when I was supposed to be listening to friends. I treated it almost like it was a real crime I was obsessed with and I had to work it out. I had some ridiculous ideas, but tried to rein myself in and hope that what I have landed on makes sense and is believable.
The characters in this book live with secrets that slowly unravel and collide. How do you build such layered personalities while ensuring readers remain emotionally invested in them, even when they are deeply flawed?
Everyone in real life has secrets they cannot handle. Someone else knowing and keeping these secrets creates more lies. Humans are deeply flawed and I think we see this more as people open up their lives on social media. Keeping readers emotionally invested in them is a challenge (as I feel it is as if you post too much on social media) and I think each reader will see it differently and in their own way — like how, in real life, some may judge people on a certain flaw, while others may judge them on their positives. In this book, despite it being written in the third person, we see these characters through the protagonist’s eyes. The reader can judge her judgements maybe.
Place is central to your fiction, and here you move between Sri Lanka and the UK. How do these shifting geographies help intensify the suspense or push the narrative forward?
They helped me separate the timelines. Everything is different; I find my own moods and impatience dictated by things like temperature. And it maybe shows in the characters depending on where they are. Also, in Sri Lanka, people have more time to help others and to see what they’re doing.
The book alternates between timeframes, creating a web of tension. What guided your decision to structure the narrative, and how did you keep the threads coherent without losing pace?
That was a challenge and I did have to lose one or two chapters. I wanted to maintain control as it was easier for me to write with pace, but I made a concerted effort to slow down sometimes so the reader could come up for air. I hope I got this right, but I am sure some readers will want me to have gone faster and some slower. The timeframes also allowed me to show the main character as two very different people.
You are known for capturing the complexities of Sri Lankan identity and society across privilege and politics, and also you have your humour intact. Where do all these elements in your literary work find inspiration from?
I have lived in Sri Lanka for so long, but I am not Sri Lankan. So, I view things as an outsider as the characters in my book often are. The book is dark. So, sometimes I have to focus on seedier sides of Colombo and on the more dodgy characters, but I think I can maintain humour because Sri Lankans love a laugh and are so resilient even in the face of difficulties and challenges. It is tricky as I know some readers get upset if I don’t make Sri Lanka sound perfect, but, if I did, this book may have become more of a holiday brochure than a mystery.
Are the characters in any way inspired by real people?
Absolutely. I have met friendly people who are so much fun to be around who I later hear have dubious relationships with the law. Or people I think are unfriendly who I later hear have done so much good. But again, it is important to say that the characters are written through Neja’s eyes, not mine. So, for example, the other school mums are painted in a much more negative light than others would see them. Same with the mother-in-law. I attempted here to show that, while Neja was forced into motherhood, she had something against mothers who had no issue having children themselves.
Your characters are complex, often caught in the messiness of privilege, identity, and morality. What keeps you returning to these grey zones rather than clear-cut heroes and villains?
If someone was on TV lauded for saving 100 lives in a fire, I am sure the media could dig up some dirt on them. Likewise, except for psychopaths, I am sure you could dig up a story of kindness in a criminal. Let me explain with an example. I would hate someone who has committed a crime but if that same person loved and cared for animals, my hate would vanish and I would become more sympathetic.
Across your body of work, you’ve experimented with satire, short stories, and now thrillers. Which one do you enjoy the most?
I am not a massive planner and just start writing. When I do, I have no idea where it will take me. This time I tried a slow-burner thriller as it is what I like reading and I liked the challenge of piecing together the puzzle. I did the same thing with my short stories as they all tied together to form one narrative. Writing comedy is by far the most enjoyable as there is freedom in the absurdity, but humour is even more subjective than anything else so, perhaps, needs a more niche audience.
Are you working on anything new?
I am toying with the idea of a quirky mother-daughter detective team. A dutiful South Asian daughter looking after her mother, a brilliant, Sherlock Holmes-type detective but with the eccentricities of a hoarding South Asian mother brought up during times of rationing. She sees things differently.