Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul is quite right.The novel such as it should be is on its last legs.And it is eminent writers such as Sir Vidia who are responsible for this sorry state of affairs.Today a novel is merely a product that must be sold.To that end it is manufactured and packaged.Finally,it is brought to the marketplace and sold.I am not saying that this is bad.Far from it this process has to be followed if the novel must exist at all.But in trying to mass-produce rather than ’’create’’ novels the artistic and aesthetic value of the writing process is gradually eroded.Without taking names I must mention a lady who writes about a teenage wizard and his myriad adventures.Look at her language-its so engaging.Look at the imaginative way in which she creates her backdrop and painstakingly etches each character.Thats the way a novel should be written after years of backbacking study and research.But no,we have fly-by-night authors who have just started writing yesterday who claim to know about areas and technologies that have appeared only lately.There are people who try to cash in on recent fads and trends and make a quick buck.There are novels that try to exploit the guilt we surely harbour for ignoring tradition and embracing the new age.All these authors are fishmongers and not literateurs.If the novel has died a natural death it is because of these irresponsible people.You see a good novel is like a great film.It must have a magnificent story with prominent characters and a perspective that accomodates them all.Till the novel comes back from the dead to extract that revenge we might as well keep singing its dirge.