The Calcutta Chromosome

A Novel of Fevers, Delirium & Discovery

By: Amitav Ghosh

Narrated by: Simon Vance

From Victorian India to near-future New York, The Calcutta Chromosome takes listeners on a wondrous journey through time as a computer programmer trapped in a mind-numbing job hits upon a curious item that will forever change his life.

When Antar discovers the battered I.D. card of a long-lost acquaintance, he is suddenly drawn into a spellbinding adventure across centuries and around the globe, into the strange life of L. Murugan, a man obsessed with the medical history of malaria, and into a magnificently complex world where conspiracy hangs in the air like mosquitoes on a summer night.

©2010 Amitav Ghosh (P)2010 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"The Calcutta Chromosome is one of those books that's marketed as a mainstream thriller even though it is an excellent science fiction novel (it won the prestigious Arthur C. Clarke Award)." (Amazon.com review)

Mesmerizing story, excellent performance

What did you love best about The Calcutta Chromosome?

Simon Vance really brought the characters to life; the voices haunted me. I immediately listened to the novel a second time after finishing it the first time, which is something I do very rarely.

Any additional comments?

As a combination of science fiction and historical fiction, this is a book like no other that I have read. HIGHLY recommended!

Simply Amazing

This book was phenomenal and I loved every second of it.
The story is very deep and has many historical and cultural references to it.
While all being wrapped up into this complex fictional story.
This is a all time favorite and is an amazing read after a long day.
In my opinion this is one of the best books I have gotten into. Thanks for the ride and amazing narration, Ten out of ten!

What fun!

This is a mix of biology, medicine, history, Sci Fi and a whopping good time. The humor is great as is the suspense. At first I had no idea where the story was going and then once I understood the different time frames it all made sense.
I'm going to listen to more from this author.

falls flat

The biggest challenge of this book is trying to make sense of the story. When is it current time, the past, or someone in the past relating something in the even more distant past, or someone in the past relating a story of someone in a more distant past who is having a possibly hallucinatory experience? Maybe the book is better experienced in print. But okay, it kept me engaged. Until the end neared, at which point it got silly. The ending was unsatisfying, rendering the entire book unsatisfying.

Vance was his at his usual, love him or not.

I’m so confused

The book started out great, I was really interested to see where the plot would go, but halfway through it took a weird turn. First half was good, second half left me more confused than anything else. Not to mention the ending left me feeling very unsatisfied.