Melville House author Tarun Tejpal spoke and read from his book, The Story of My Assassinations, last night at The Strand in New York City. Mr. Tejpal, always energetic, eloquent, and charismatic discussed, among other things, his book’s narrative, the state of India’s court system, and the certain, um … canine qualities found in the narrator of Assassins.

Here’s a sampling of quotes from the event.

* “It’s not the job of the novelist to be either didactic or prescriptive.”

* “I tried to cut as close to the bone of Indian society as possible.”

* “The things I wanted to say could not be addressed in an earnest or ‘straight’ voice.”

* “He’s fundamentally a ranter, and the nice thing about using ranters is that they let you say a crapload about society.”

* “He’s a real dog, the narrator.”

* “Indian courts are a kind of mix between Kafka and Chaplin.”

* “The problem of my class is, we are born into a rarefied zone, and we believe that that is India.”

Tejpal continues the discussion and his reading tour tonight at New York’s Asia Society, with Tunku Varadarajan of Newsweek.

If you can’t make the event, you can still have the book, and for 20% off, HERE.