This is how the author, Tomi Astikainen, introduces his first book Republic of Eelam Ltd.
How would you describe the book briefly?
It’s a science-fiction story of a country turned into a company. That’s where the name “Republic of Eelam Ltd” comes from. It’s an interesting scenario for a future where they’ve actually managed to use business means to build a somewhat functioning society with clean nature and decent living standards for everyone… until this picture of a role-model society starts cracking when the anarchists step into the picture and start pointing out the fallacies.
The book is full of conspiracies and deceit; various characters trying to balance on the tight rope of maximizing their own gain, trying not to be exposed. It’s also a story of individual change process. There are elements of a thriller, an action movie and a love story.
Really, it’s multi-layered like an onion.
Tell us about the writing process.
I wrote it mostly in 2007 when I was living in Sri Lanka. Development of the country was stagnated due to the hostilities between the government and LTTE, or the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. People had learned to live in poverty and didn’t care much if an occasional bomb went off in Colombo. And just a few years ago the tsunami had contributed to the death toll.
Yet it’s amazing how laid-back and positive Sri Lankan people are. I essentially wrote the book as a salute for them: trying to unite them to see how precious gifts their unique culture and this beautiful island actually are. And this is the message that I want to send to all the nations world-wide: take care of the nature, cherish your local culture and learn to live together with others irrespective of background, race or religion.
What is your opinion about the end result?
I actually just read the book after not even thinking about it for a few years. There are some minor grammatical errors, typos and logical fallacies but I’ve lost the original already so I can’t make any changes anymore.
But to my astonishment it was really good. I read it in almost one go. I was baffled how fascinating, surprising and entertaining piece it was. The way the characters think one thing and say something else is fantastic. They leave each other – and the reader – guessing what’s their true nature; if they are on the side of the goodies or the baddies.
Although I didn’t have the understanding of how our society functions at that time it’s interesting to see that the book still raises some valid points of consideration. Questions like Can we trust the future of our world in the hands of business alone, Is government even needed anymore, and How technology should be treated to help humanity are all addressed in Republic of Eelam Ltd.
The best part is that there doesn’t seem to be anything extra in the story. It’s written like a shattered glass mosaic: small clues are revealed throughout the pages and the big picture is formed only in the very end.
Who should read the book?
I guess different types of people get very different things out of it. Conspiracy nuts must love the book. On almost every paragraph there’s a dot for them to connect. Even managers could get something out of it, as the story emphasizes values-based leadership and lean management of an organization. But in all honesty it’s quite light read so anyone with thirst for action or romance could enjoy it.
