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15 books by Amitav Ghosh that prove he is a master storyteller

TNN | Last updated on - Nov 11, 2019, 14:42 IST

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15 Books by Amitav Ghosh that prove he is a master storyteller

Write India author Amitav Ghosh is one of India's most celebrated writers in the English language. Born in 1956 Calcutta, Ghosh spent his early years in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, while he studied in Delhi, Oxford and in Egypt. The popular author writes both fiction and non-fiction and has penned 15 books so far, and his writing is known for intertwining history and life experiences. Ghosh has won the Sahitya Akademi Award, the Padma Shri and is also the first writer in English to win the prestigious Jnanpith award. Here's a list of all the books written by Amitav Ghosh which prove that he spins magic with words alone. Add them to your reading list now, if you haven't read them already.

(Photo: Penguin Random House India)

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The Circle of Reason (1986)

Written in 1986, 'The Circle of Reason' is Ghosh's debut novel. The story revolves around Alu, an orphan, and his journey which spans across many years and continents. Alu's foster father enlists him as a soldier to fight against the forces. They are suspected of terrorism, but an unfortunate situation forces Alu to run away from his village. He travels from Calcutta to Goa onto a fishing trawler that illegally ships immigrants to Africa, while being chased by a police officer all this while. Ghosh won the Prix Medici Etranger Award for his novel 'The Circle of Reason'.
Image: Penguin Random House

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The Shadow Lines (1988)

Ghosh's 'The Shadow Lines' won the Sahitya Akademi Award. This funny yet moving story is that of a young boy who travels across time and any boundaries, through the memories and tales of people around him. But when the narrator grows older, he is traumatised by a violent situation. The many bits of stories fall into place in his mind, until he arrives at a juncture where boundaries are blurred to mere shadow lines and all the world is united. 'Out of a complex web of memories, relationships and images, Amitav Ghosh builds an intensely vivid, funny and moving story. Exposing the idea of the nation-state as an illusion, an arbitrary dissection of people, Ghosh depicts the absurd manner in which your home can suddenly become your enemy,' reads the book blurb.
Image: Penguin Random House India

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In an Antique Land (1992)

Published in 1992, 'In an Antique Land' is a multi-genre book - from travel writing to history to anthropology, it blurs the distinction between fiction and non-fiction. Ghosh wrote this book when he lived in small villages and towns of Egypt. It highlights the ties between the two countries--India and Egypt-- and people of various religions-- Hindu, Muslims and Jews. The book is filled with the author's anecdotes and a bit of imagination, and through it Ghosh makes the readers rethink that boundaries that divide the world are all created by humans.
Image: Penguin Random House

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The Calcutta Chromosome (1996)

Amitav Ghosh won the Arthur C. Clarke Award for his 1996 book 'The Calcutta Chromosome'. The story begins in the future and ranges back to the 19th century following the protagonist L. Murugan. He is in search of what he calls the 'Calcutta Chromosome' as the scientist Sir Ronald Ross, who won the Nobel Prize, solved the mystery behind malaria in 1898 Calcutta. This science thriller beautifully depicts the Victorian era and contemporary India.
Image: Penguin Random House India

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Dancing in Cambodia and Other Essays (1998)

This non-fiction book is a collection of essays which are first-hand accounts of the author's life experiences. Through the book, Ghosh chronicles the present age turmoils. 'Dancing in Cambodia' recreates the first-ever visit to Europe by a troupe of Cambodian dancers with King Sisowath, in 1906. 'The Town by the Sea' records his experiences in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands just days after the tsunami; and in 'September 11' he takes us back to that fateful day when he retrieved his young daughter from school in New York, sick with the knowledge that she will be marked by the same kind of tumult that has defined his own life,' reads the book blurb.
Image: Penguin Random House India

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Countdown (1999)

It was in 1998 when the India government tested five nuclear devices near Pokharan and a few days later Pakistan did the same. A few months later Ghosh visited Pokharan and then Kashmir as a part of the defence minister's team. He even travelled to Siachen, the Indo-Pak border. Ghosh wrote this non-fiction book after travelling through India, Pakistan and Nepal and meeting hundreds of people during this journey.
Image: Penguin Random House

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The Glass Palace (2000)

Ghosh's 'The Glass Palace' won the Grand Prize for Fiction, Frankfurt International e-Book Awards. Set in 19th century Burma, the story begins with its kingdom disintegrating and how it affects the fate of the people. The story revolves around an Indian boy, Rajkumar, who falls in love with Dolly, a palace attendant, at a time when the royal family is being forced to leave the glass place by British invaders. As fate would have it, Rajkumar builds an empire in the teak forest of Burma during the socio-political turmoil. But even after several years, he is unable to forget Dolly and so he sets on a journey in search of her.
Image: Penguin Random House

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The Imam and the Indian (2002)

This book is an extensive collection of essays written by Ghosh which he penned during his stay in Egypt in the 80s. In a way, the essays trace the transformation of his ideas into works of fiction. Ghosh 'explores the connections between past and present, events and memories, people, cultures and countries that have a shared history' reads the book blurb.
Image: Penguin Random House

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The Hungry Tide (2004)

Set in Sundarbans, 'The Hungry Tide' is yet another work of fiction by Ghosh. The story revolves around Piyali Roy, who has Indian parents but an American upbringing, and Kanai Dutt, a businessman from Delhi. Fate makes the two meet in Sunderbans and which in turn threatens the future of this untouched territory.
Image: Penguin Random House

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Incendiary Circumstances: A Chronicle of the Turmoil of Our Times (2005)

This book is a compilation of Amitav Ghosh's writings on catastrophic events that happened during his journalistic career spanning over three decades. Some of these pieces have never been published in the States before. The work chronicles the turmoils of our times.
Image: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

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Sea of Poppies (2008)

This 2008 book is the first in the Ibis trilogy. The book is based on a bunch of sailors, convicts and coolies who are sailing down the Hooghly on their way to Mauritius aboard the Ibis. During their journey, their equations change to that of ship brothers as they dream of a future of new lives built on remote islands where they'll be taken. Ghosh's 'Sea of Poppies' was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize.
Image: Penguin Random House

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River of Smoke (2011)

The second book in the Ibis trilogy, 'River of Smoke' follows the lives of people aboard three ships- the Ibis, the Redruth and the Anahita- which are caught in a storm. Their fortunes change as they land on China's crowded harbours of the 19th century and struggle to survive.
Image: Penguin Random House

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Flood of Fire (2015)

Set in 1839, it's a time when Beijing has blockaded the British's export of opium to the country. The British are now planning to invade China. Meanwhile in India, a young sailor in Calcutta dreams to make fortunes; havildar Kesri is heading towards Calcutta to lead Indian volunteers in a regiment for a war; and Shireen Modi in Mumbai prepares to sail to China alone in order to claim her husband's, who was an opium trader, riches and reputation back. Coming back to China, the officials here are planning a war against the British. Neel has become their aide and he realises that the Chinese are nowhere at par with the Britishers for the warfare. What happens next is for the readers to discover.
Image: Penguin Random House

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The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable (2016)

Ghosh shares his thoughts about climate change and how the future generations might think of our generation as deranged. In this non-fiction work, the author 'examines our inability at the level of literature, history and politics to grasp the scale and violence of climate change', reads the book blurb.
Image: Penguin Random House

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Gun Island (2019)

Ghosh's 2019 book 'Gun Island' is the story of a man, whose faith in the society is restored by two women. When a rare books dealer Deen Datta's beliefs begin to shift, he sets out on a remarkable journey which takes him from India to Los Angeles and Venice. And his journey is filled with memories of the people he meets on his way, all of whom play an important role. In the end, Deen Datta's thoughts about himself, the Bengali legends and the world are all changed.

(Photo: Penguin Hamish Hamilton)

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15 books by Amitav Ghosh that prove he is a master storyteller