I totally agree with you. Thankfully I read "The Glass Palace" first, which is the best of his lot. Even though he is my most fav author, I could not relate to "Calcutta Chromosome" at all.
lol,i found Calcutta chromosome to be terrific and it made me a fan of Amitav ghosh. Glass Palace otoh was quite difficult to read and i could not finish it. Ghosh could have worked a little harder on the climax. But probably he is the only quality English author even now who can compare with authors of Indian languages in depicting India and Calcutta chromosome is a beautiful example of that. It has a genre of its own. His best is Hungry Tide.Amitav writes very good non fiction too.Due to the time gap, I am unsure if Shadow lines was more boring than Glass palace.
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I agree that The Calcutta Chromosome is the most particular book by Ghosh. It is not one of my favourite either, but I did like it. I thing the plot is complex, the end is open, and it is up to the reader to draw the lines that bring together different characters in different places and time.
I recommend Shadow lines, it is one of my favourite books ever, though equally complex. Hungry tides, Glass palace, Sea of poppies are also wonderful novels.
My general rule of thumb when beginning to read a new ( for me ) author is to read their work chronologically. This has served me well until "The Calcutta Chromosome". While I enjoyed many/most sections of the book, by the end I felt a bit dazed, confused and abandoned. I guess that I now join a select group of readers who also have these feelings. N'est pas?
Yes, the ending is quite foggy. Though I do understand that Ava is a tool to show Antar's research into Murugan, it could've been handled more maturely. The book gives quite a vague impression, and I think the author did not have a very clear idea of how to write the backstory so that it would culminate in the idea he was trying to deliver. More about this on my blog. This is the second book of his I've read. The first was 'The Hungry Tide', which was a little too mushy and cheesy for me, but was an easier and more enjoyable read. It was what it looked like, a quality which is absent from the Calcutta Chromosome. Correct, Ms. Goyal, the loose definition of 'chromosome' is pretty irritating; as is the absence of that word from most of the book.
I actually thought the end of the book was quite clear b/c the main character by then was the virus; it was looking for a new way to propagate; it choose to be spread through the computer, Ava, and as it is spread, it will essentially upload the main character's personality with it. This is the next step. So, the 20th century starts with Malaria needing railroads to spread; it ends with them using technology. I think the book fits together beautifully once you think of malaria as the main character in it.
I totally agree with you. Thankfully I read "The Glass Palace" first, which is the best of his lot.
ReplyDeleteEven though he is my most fav author, I could not relate to "Calcutta Chromosome" at all.
lol,i found Calcutta chromosome to be terrific and it made me a fan of Amitav ghosh. Glass Palace otoh was quite difficult to read and i could not finish it. Ghosh could have worked a little harder on the climax. But probably he is the only quality English author even now who can compare with authors of Indian languages in depicting India and Calcutta chromosome is a beautiful example of that. It has a genre of its own.
ReplyDeleteHis best is Hungry Tide.Amitav writes very good non fiction too.Due to the time gap, I am unsure if Shadow lines was more boring than Glass palace.
skip this book - he he he...
ReplyDeleteI wish the book to be present.
Hi
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I agree that The Calcutta Chromosome is the most particular book by Ghosh. It is not one of my favourite either, but I did like it.
ReplyDeleteI thing the plot is complex, the end is open, and it is up to the reader to draw the lines that bring together different characters in different places and time.
I recommend Shadow lines, it is one of my favourite books ever, though equally complex.
Hungry tides, Glass palace, Sea of poppies are also wonderful novels.
My general rule of thumb when beginning to read a new ( for me ) author is to read their work chronologically. This has served me well until "The Calcutta Chromosome". While I enjoyed many/most sections of the book, by the end I felt a bit dazed, confused and abandoned. I guess that I now join a select group of readers who also have these feelings. N'est pas?
ReplyDeleteYes, the ending is quite foggy. Though I do understand that Ava is a tool to show Antar's research into Murugan, it could've been handled more maturely. The book gives quite a vague impression, and I think the author did not have a very clear idea of how to write the backstory so that it would culminate in the idea he was trying to deliver. More about this on my blog.
ReplyDeleteThis is the second book of his I've read. The first was 'The Hungry Tide', which was a little too mushy and cheesy for me, but was an easier and more enjoyable read. It was what it looked like, a quality which is absent from the Calcutta Chromosome.
Correct, Ms. Goyal, the loose definition of 'chromosome' is pretty irritating; as is the absence of that word from most of the book.
I actually thought the end of the book was quite clear b/c the main character by then was the virus; it was looking for a new way to propagate; it choose to be spread through the computer, Ava, and as it is spread, it will essentially upload the main character's personality with it. This is the next step. So, the 20th century starts with Malaria needing railroads to spread; it ends with them using technology. I think the book fits together beautifully once you think of malaria as the main character in it.
ReplyDelete