I wish I had read this book before I read all the others by Amitav Ghosh. It has all the characteristics one has come to expect of an Amitacv Ghosh novel - deep research, great narration with such level of detail that it feels like an impressionist painting, a significant item or thought, The Life of Louis Pasteur in this case, that binds all the main characters who travel through time on their own paths which Ghosh conspires to ensure cross during some time in the story and connections to Bengal and the positive impact that it has had thanks to the prosperity of Burma. I now see where all this began and can only marvel at how he has successfully developed each of these themes in his subsequent works. There is mention of Ronald Ross and his association with Calcutta which is the central theme of The Calcutta Chromosome. The reference to Balaram Bose's father who made his fortune thanks to his connections with the timber trade in Burma is the central theme of The Glass Palace, one of my favourite novels and the description of Naokhali and the immigrants from Burma who consciously keep their own quaint traditions and language all seem like preliminary research for his subsequent works. Like all his other works, this one too shows off his immense ability to research arcane topics and find relevance for them in the novel's characters. The history of cotton and weaving becomes central to Shombhu Debnath and phrenology to Balaram Bose. I can see why my friend, Srikanth Mallavarapu who teaches English in Roanoke, Virginia is so interested in Amitav Ghosh's works. As with all his other works, what stands out is his ability to describe, in great detail the characters and the setting, almost like a screenplay. The attention to detail never ceases to amaze. Even simple descriptions of Balaram Bose's house and how it looks with the light filtering through coconut palms and lemon trees is so vivid that even someone like me with no creative genes can visualise it. It may seem, to many readers, to be quite superfluous since it does not add much to the plot or the story line but perhaps that is the beauty of a classical style of writing that many of us grew up reading. Those of us who have been lucky to live amongst coconut palms and lemon trees will immediately recall the effect that these trees, which are so different from each other, work nicely together so that the tall palms and the short lemon tree take the edge of the harsh sun and torrential rain. If one was to look for meaning the trees could be symbolising Bhudeb Roy and Balaram Bose or perhaps it is just a red herring for the readers planted there by Ghosh in a moment of mischief. The influence of his time in Egypt is evident here with colloqual Arabic phrases thrown in when Zindi and her friends exclaim. Unlike many other authors, these phrases seem be in the right place and keep with the flow of the story. This is perhaps taken too far in The Sea of Poppies where the use of Anglo-Indian phrases is overdone. I cannot but agree with Srikanth's characterization of Ghosh as an ambitious author who surrounds himself with his brilliant ideas and characters but fails to pick on one central theme or set of characters to develop. Everytime one reads one of his novels, one feels like one is reading the Mahabharatha with several characters, each playing the central character in a sub-plot somewhere while the main characters disappear for a while to the background. There is a set of themes and ideas in this work that develop into central themes in subsequent novels. If I ever met Amitav Ghosh, I would suggest that he reads The Malgudi Days a few times a year. R.K. Narayan created a number of characters and each of them had a central role in a story that had a single plot that ensured that it was easy reading while at the same time allowed for each of those stories and characters to be developed over time beyond Malgudi. While it begins in a manner that shows off all of Ghosh's strengths, it also highlights what I think is one of his weaknesses, the ability to finish the novel in the same enthusiastic way that he begins like setting off on a great adventure only to stop when the car runs out of fuel in the middle of nowhere. To a simpleton like me, it is a very tame ending that Alu returns to India with Zindi and Boss, Karthamma dies of a heart attack and Jyoti Das deserts the civil service to work with his uncle in Germany. Maybe the ending was an offering from Ghosh to the critics for them to admire and analyse, find meaning and feel good about the emperor's new clothes. I do like dessert and I feel as if I have been cheated out of it after being served a delicious meal, Ghosh's herbal tea just does not cut it for me. The gratitutous sex between Parboti and Shombhu, the unlikeliest of individuals, is another completely avoidable feature of his novels like the sorbet between courses in a pretentious restaurant.
Mi sono lasciato cullare da questo romanzone, lungo quasi 500 pagine. Non so se sono riuscito a capire tutto quello che Ghosh voleva raccontare, ma poco importa. Ho goduto delle atmosfere, dei personaggi, della geografia, dei racconti nei racconti, della coralità. Ho viaggiato, dall’India all’Algeria, passando per mari e deserto. Ho imparato che lingua e cultura uniscono e dividono a ogni latitudine, che tante storie che noi crediamo tipiche della nostra cultura occidentale sono il frutto di una storia in cui la separazione tra Oriente e Occidente non era così assoluta come oggi vogliamo credere. Mi sono fatto incantare da storie di donne generose e appassionate, uomini curiosi e ossessionati da un’idea, passioni perdute, fratellanza. Un enorme affresco in movimento, in un epoca imprecisata, fra una tradizione che mostra tutte le sue contraddizioni e un progresso malato, lontano dai bisogni di uomini e donne. Un libro strano, con una storia strana, senza un vero inizio e una vera fine. Probabilmente un libro che non può lasciare indifferenti, o lo si ama – come è successo a me – o lo si rigetta fin dalle prime pagine. In ogni caso, per quanto mi riguarda, l’ennesima conferma per quanto riguarda Ghosh.
What do You think about The Circle Of Reason (2005)?
The story starts promisingly with an orphaned boy- Alu, who is sent to live with his uncle in a small village with his 'rationalist' uncle who is obsessed with Louis Pasteur, germs and carbolic acid. There are some promising characters like the bird loving police investigator- Jyoti Das, who looks perpetually surprised thanks to his one raised eyebrow. However, the plot has too many characters and their sub plots are too confusing to keep track.As you start relating to the characters, the story shifts from West Bengal to Al-Gazira and you are faced with a whole new set of characters and their histories. I read this novel after being impressed with Hungry Tide and Sea of Poppies. This story does have the similar theme of conflicts, migration to new unknown lands in a ship etc, but lacks a cohesive plot and I lost interest mid-way.
—Radhika
I took a class with Amitav, but I had never read any of his work up to this point. The novel was both surprising and unsurprising. There were things that I expected from him based on his teaching style and the books that he chose for us to read and some of those expectations were met. His attention to detail was immaculate, though occasionally distracting. On the other hand, my favorite part of the book was a section that recounted the dealings of small character in a short story format. It fit perfectly into the context of the novel and served as a microcosm of the rest of the work. Unfortunately, it never seemed like the story had much focus. Even now I'm not entirely sure where it went.
—Clark
The strange motley of characters made this a very interesting read. Moreover, I love Amitav Ghosh's style of writing and his great command over the English language. Alu and all the other people around him are so weird and all his adventures are very strange indeed. This book has poor reviews but if you have liked his other novels and his descriptive style - you will like this book.Amitav Ghosh takes you through an unusual journey through different but hostile parts of the world and each part is quirky with a strange but amusing twist in the story.I took away a star cause the book dragged a bit towards the end. Still worth reading it though.
—Molshri
