Gun Island

By: Amitav Ghosh

Narrated by: Sagar Arya

Length: 10 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's Summary

A spellbinding, globe-trotting novel by the best-selling author of the Ibis trilogy.

Bundook. Gun. A common word, but one which turns Deen Datta's world upside down.

A dealer of rare books, Deen is used to a quiet life spent indoors, but as his once-solid beliefs begin to shift, he is forced to set out on an extraordinary journey; one that takes him from India to Los Angeles and Venice via a tangled route through the memories and experiences of those he meets along the way. There is Piya, a fellow Bengali-American who sets his journey in motion; Tipu, an entrepreneurial young man who opens Deen's eyes to the realities of growing up in today's world; Rafi, with his desperate attempt to help someone in need; and Cinta, an old friend who provides the missing link in the story they are all a part of. It is a journey which will upend everything he thought he knew about himself, about the Bengali legends of his childhood and about the world around him.

Gun Island is a beautifully realised novel which effortlessly spans space and time. It is the story of a world on the brink, of increasing displacement and unstoppable transition. But it is also a story of hope, of a man whose faith in the world and the future is restored by two remarkable women.

©2019 Amitav Ghosh (P)2019 Hodder & Stoughton Ltd

Contemporary fiction on climate change

Contemporary fiction on climate change

Master storyteller Amitav Ghosh takes on the contemporary issue of climate change in this work of fiction the Gun island.
After the ibis trilogy the epic historical fiction that so vividly portrayed and transferred us readers to the eighteenth and nineteenth century south asia under the grips of colonial imperialism, the gun island is set around the contemporary issues of migrants intelligently interwoven with the issue of climate change. One of the moments in the novel worth reflecting upon is when it compares human migration from the Sunderbans and other parts of the world to the migration of dolphins , birds crabs , spiders and worms to foreign lands as a result of climate change.

The book leaves you with a feeling that sends you pondering over coincidences from the past present and future. Its characters ranging from cold rational scientifically oriented Pia to a warm matronly Cinta whose belief in life's and the universe's co-incidences, miracles and faith is wonderfully interwoven in the story and instills in us the realization that there is so much about the interconnectedness that still lies undiscovered by the scientific rational thinkers.

Substantially shorter that many of other Amitav Ghosh's novels this one also leaves you with a feeling that many loose ends in the story have been left untied. Despite that shortcoming overall a great work of contemporary fiction .

Knitting together how colonialism links into migration and climate change

Great storytelling about how stories connect people over long distances and long stretches of time and how this matters in the Anthropocene.

Disappointed that it didn’t hold my attention to the end

The book was really promising. I liked to hear about the character and about his world and that of the other characters. I felt my mind was being expanded and the pace of the book was good. However, the last hour ramped up the pace to a storyline that seemed too random for me to find it gripping. It was a pleasant enough end, but I was a bit disappointed it didn’t hold me.

Interesting context and story

I loved this story although it had a few sections where the main character gazed inwardly at his behaviour/character which I think were superfluous.

Great author and interesting book that tackles climate change and migration

Very few books tackle these issues, so it’s interesting and important to see such a great author changing that. Great performance and worth a listen for sure

Very engaging!

The reader's voice was brilliantly suited to the story. It was a joy to listen to the accents, and languages. Great job

loved this

Great performance, delivering a delightful interwoven tale around the the themes of climate change and human trafficking. This is done with a delicate touch with a light sprinkling of fantasy. History is constantly repeating itself.

Surprising and satisfyingly modern

I enjoyed this a lot. It’s tells a very interesting story with modern issues and just enough mystery and magic. Very likeable characters and lovely writing. Fantastic.

marvellous story

great writing, wonderful narrative, excellent deliverance, couldn't wait to hear the next chapter, enjoyable throughout

Superb if a bit overly didactic and academic at times

A tad overly didactic and overly academic at times which detracted from the story line. Also too much reported second hand particularly in the first part of the book.I Was very disappointed not to spend more time in the Sunderbans. There were two stories at least at work here terms of the shrine and gun merchant and the author’s obvious passion for fighting climate change. Sometimes I feel the story telling became secondary to the points he wanted to make about environmental preservation. The anti colonial rant in the last chapter, came out of the blue, added nothing to the story and could have been edited out. Overall though superb. A life changing, enriching and deeply spiritual novel. Do read. Lots of thought provoking stuff. Bravo. A rare thing! A novel that assumes the reader is highly intelligent and does not dumb the reader down.