The Circle of Reason

By: Amitav Ghosh

Narrated by: Simon Vance

Amitav Ghosh’s extraordinary first novel makes a claim on literary turf held by Gabriel García Márquez and Salman Rushdie. In a vivid and magical story, The Circle of Reason traces the misadventures of Alu, a young master weaver in a small Bengali village who is falsely accused of terrorism. Alu flees his home, traveling through Bombay to the Persian Gulf to North Africa with a bird-watching policeman in pursuit.

©2011 Brilliance Audio, Inc.; 1986 Amitav Ghosh

Critic reviews

“A remarkable storyteller, a Scheherezade effortlessly spinning tales within tales, the possessor of a strong narrative voice quite like no other.” ( Newsday)

"Ghosh’s writing soars, producing electric images.” ( Baltimore Sun)

Circles within circles

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Although Amitav Ghosh is one of my favorite writers, I found this book confusing and not very interesting. Too many people moving around without compelling purpose.

What three words best describe Simon Vance’s voice?

Excellent as usual.

Ghosh, I was disappointed

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

only to an avid Ghosh fan.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

It seemed contrived.

Have you listened to any of Simon Vance’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes I have and he is consistently good, especially in a book with many characters.

Do you think The Circle of Reason needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

please no more on this story line.

Any additional comments?

Compared to Sea of Poppies, River of Smoke, Glass Palace, Hungry Tide, Circle of Reason had a less steady hand on the plot. The characters were thinner and less compelling: I gladly said goodbye to them at the end. In contrast, I have grieved for my own loss at the sound of "audible hopes you have enjoyed this content" (or turned the last page, in some cases) for all the other Ghosh titles.

beautifully narrated,

The story is rife with intriguing characters and complex situations. It's difficult to follow at times. Narration is music to the ears so I didn't mind getting lost

Ok

I didn't enjoy it as much as I enjoyed The Glass Palace. It is a bit aimless but enjoyable

What was this about

Authors trilogy was quite good. However this book seems to have no purpose or direction. The descriptions seem very interesting but they go no where. I like the unusual names but because there are so many central characters there is no way to know who is who