Malavika Kannan

Malavika Kannan is a 25-year-old writer who has written a coming-of-age novel called Unprecedented Times. The novel follows Rishi, a burnt-out Indian American youth climate activist, as she embarks on her first year at Stanford.

The Novel's Premise

The book starts with Rishi's excitement to leave her strict childhood in Florida and explore her newfound freedom in college. However, her college experience is soon disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Kannan's goal was to write a protagonist that readers can immerse themselves in, but also disagree with.

Rishi is a fully fleshed-out character with a distinctive voice, and her story is relatable to many young Americans who lived through the pandemic. Kannan, who was also an activist and attended Stanford, drew parallels between Rishi's life and her own experiences.

The Author's Inspiration

Kannan says that the pandemic was a huge radicalising experience for most Americans, but it hit different for a generation of people who had not gotten a chance to see the American dream work as promised. She wanted to capture the sense of systems collapse that occurred during the pandemic, and she felt that the college campus novel was the perfect setting to explore this theme.

The novel explores topics such as modern dating, social media, and the #MeToo movement, which are all relevant to gen Z. Kannan weaves these topics into the story, creating a 2020 period piece that explores the modern political and cultural landscape.

The Novel's Significance

Unprecedented Times is one of the first pieces of pandemic literature written by and for gen Z. Kannan guesses that there will be a second wave of Covid depictions coming down the pipeline, and she hopes that her book will resonate with readers who feel robbed of a beginning. The novel is not just a Covid novel, but a coming-of-age story that explores the complexities of selfhood in the age of the internet.

Kannan's writing allows her to explore the topic of Covid without it feeling forced, and Rishi's self-awareness makes her a relatable and flawed character. The fact that Rishi doesn't have the bandwidth to heal her relationship with her parents makes the story even more relatable to the average 18-year-old experience.

The novel's exploration of existential questions, such as those that arise from Rishi's relationships with her female friends, adds depth to the story. Kannan admits that she didn't have the wisdom to attempt to answer these questions, but she hopes that the novel will spark important discussions.

According to the source, Malavika Kannan's novel Unprecedented Times is a significant contribution to the literary world, offering a unique perspective on the Covid-era college experience.