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Gun Island
Mar. 22nd, 2022 06:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
blue_antWhenever I run across a book that sounds interesting, if it's available on Overdrive, I'll put a hold on it or wishlist it. Sometimes, though, if it's not available, I'll request that the library purchase it. If the library does purchase the book, it usually gets checked out to me or I get put on a hold list. This is what happened with Gun Island by Amitav Ghosh. I had forgotten what this book was about when I started reading it and decided not to reread the summary and just enjoy the novel.
It is the story of Deen Datta, a Bengali-American rare book dealer in his 60s. He's just been dumped and he's feeling a bit lost. On a trip back to home to India, he gets caught up in the story of the Gun Merchant - a folktale with slightly different versions told in both Eastern India and Bangladesh. The novel follows Deen on his trip to investigate a temple/shrine before climate change destroys it and what happens after he gets back to the US. Somehow, without even realizing it, Deen finds himself entangled in the story of the Gun Merchant and it starts to bleed into his real life.
This is something of a fantasy novel, only because I tend to categorize things in more general genres, but it's also considered folklore fiction. If you're not a fan of spiders, read this during the day (there are a couple of short spider-related scenes that are stressful, though no one gets hurt). But the undercurrent of Ghosh's novel is not necessarily just the story of the Gun Merchant, or even Deen himself. Instead, it's a story about immigration, migration, refugees, and the idea that history connects us all to each other. There are also a few scenes that talk about who tells the stories and who gets to tell these stories, including a scene about privilege which was well executed.
Gun Island is about Deen, but it's about all the people that surround him. What happens to him doesn't just happen to only him - all the characters around him form a connection to him, through the Gun Merchant folktale without most of them even noticing. Deen by himself is actually an interesting character, but Ghosh lets us sees the lives of these side characters (an Italian professor, two boys that Deen meets on his trip to learn more about the Gun Merchant, the aunt of one of the boys, and plenty of Bengali speakers he meets in Italy.
It does appear that this is a semi-sequel to a previous novel of his and has mixed reviews on LT. But, you know, as I said, I enjoyed the novel, even if it feels a little heavy handed at times with the climate change and immigration story lines, but these things always need to be said. I really liked this book and enjoyed reading it quite a bit, even if the ending left me wanting more and I'm not sure how I feel about it. However, I would still recommend this book because the ride is engrossing and enjoyable
It is the story of Deen Datta, a Bengali-American rare book dealer in his 60s. He's just been dumped and he's feeling a bit lost. On a trip back to home to India, he gets caught up in the story of the Gun Merchant - a folktale with slightly different versions told in both Eastern India and Bangladesh. The novel follows Deen on his trip to investigate a temple/shrine before climate change destroys it and what happens after he gets back to the US. Somehow, without even realizing it, Deen finds himself entangled in the story of the Gun Merchant and it starts to bleed into his real life.
This is something of a fantasy novel, only because I tend to categorize things in more general genres, but it's also considered folklore fiction. If you're not a fan of spiders, read this during the day (there are a couple of short spider-related scenes that are stressful, though no one gets hurt). But the undercurrent of Ghosh's novel is not necessarily just the story of the Gun Merchant, or even Deen himself. Instead, it's a story about immigration, migration, refugees, and the idea that history connects us all to each other. There are also a few scenes that talk about who tells the stories and who gets to tell these stories, including a scene about privilege which was well executed.
Gun Island is about Deen, but it's about all the people that surround him. What happens to him doesn't just happen to only him - all the characters around him form a connection to him, through the Gun Merchant folktale without most of them even noticing. Deen by himself is actually an interesting character, but Ghosh lets us sees the lives of these side characters (an Italian professor, two boys that Deen meets on his trip to learn more about the Gun Merchant, the aunt of one of the boys, and plenty of Bengali speakers he meets in Italy.
It does appear that this is a semi-sequel to a previous novel of his and has mixed reviews on LT. But, you know, as I said, I enjoyed the novel, even if it feels a little heavy handed at times with the climate change and immigration story lines, but these things always need to be said. I really liked this book and enjoyed reading it quite a bit, even if the ending left me wanting more and I'm not sure how I feel about it. However, I would still recommend this book because the ride is engrossing and enjoyable
