The Shadow Lines: A Novel - Softcover

Ghosh, Amitav

Softcover

ISBN 10: 061832996X ISBN 13: 9780618329960

Publisher: Mariner Books, 2005

Synopsis

From the acclaimed author of Sea of Poppies, a novel weaving history and memory together to create “a rare work that balances formal ingenuity, heart, and mind” (New Republic)

 

Opening in Calcutta in the 1960s, Amitav Ghosh's radiant second novel follows two families—one English, one Bengali—as their lives intertwine in tragic and comic ways. The narrator, Indian born and English educated, traces events back and forth in time, from the outbreak of World War II to the late twentieth century, through years of Bengali partition and violence, observing the ways in which political events invade private lives.

About this title

About the Author:

Amitav Ghosh was born in Calcutta in 1956 and raised and educated in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Iran, Egypt, India, and the United Kingdom, where he received his Ph.D. in social anthropology from Oxford. Acclaimed for fiction, travel writing, and journalism, his books include The Circle of Reason, The Shadow Lines, In an Antique Land, and Dancing in Cambodia. Ghosh has won France’s Prix Medici Etranger, India’s prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award, the Arthur C. Clarke Award, and the Pushcart Prize. He now divides his time between Harvard University, where he is a visiting professor, and his homes in India and Brooklyn, New York.

Review:

Stunning ... amusing, sad, wise New York Times Book Review Ghosh has found his own distinctive voice - polished and profound ... A compelling novel, wistful in its tone, assured in its achieved vision Times Literary Supplement PRAISE FOR SEA OF POPPIES - 'Sea of Poppies Boasts a varied collection of characters to love and hate, and provides wonderfully detailed descriptions of opium production ... utterly involving and piles on tension until the very last page' Peter Parker, Sunday Times 'A glorious babel of a novel ... marvellously inventive ... utterly involving ... The next volume cannot come too soon' Sunday Times 'An utterly involving book' Sunday Times 'This is a panoramic adventure story, with a Dickensian energy and scope' Sunday Telegraph 'Ghosh's narrative is enriched with a wealth of historical detail ... as well as intricate characterisation that makes interaction among the diverse group truly absorbing' The Times 'There can be fewer more exciting settings for a novel than a sea-tossed sailing ship ... Ghosh piles detail upon detail in a rumbustical adventure' The Times 'Ripping post-colonial yarn ... Ghosh spins a fine story with a quite irresistible flow, breathing exuberant life ... an absorbing vision' Guardian 'A remarkably rich saga' Observer 'Each scene is boldly drawn, but it is the sheer energy and verve of Amitav Ghosh's storytelling that binds this ambitious medley' Daily Mail This is a corker Spectator Ghosh turns the ship into something robustly, bawdily and indelibly real ... a plot of Dickensian intricacy New York Times 'A master of fiction' Economist 'A richly drawn cast of characters ... gilded with expertly-mined historical detail' Sunday Business Post 'The fantastic Anglo-Asian language they speak is infectious, and the sombre yet uncertain conclusion leaves one eager for the second novel in the trilogy' Daily Telegraph 'A captivating cast ... Ghosh's saga is enriched with a blizzard of Laskari- and Hindi-derived words that add irrepressible energy to the narrative' Metro 'Beautifully written, this totally absorbing novel will leave you eagerly awaiting a second instalment' She Magazine '...this first volume in a promise trilogy is a gem.' Guardian --Guardian

About this edition

• Publisher: Mariner Books
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 061832996X
• ISBN 13: 9780618329960
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 256