From the award-winning author of the bestselling epic Ibis trilogy comes a globetrotting, folkloric adventure novel about family and heritage.
Bundook. Gun. A common word, but one that 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 that will upend everything he thought he knew about himself, about the Bengali legends of his childhood, and about the world around him. Amitav Ghosh‘s Gun Island is a beautifully realized novel that 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.
Ghosh will be in conversation with Elliott Holt, the author of the novel You Are One of Them, a New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice and finalist for the National Book Critics Circle’s John Leonard Award for a first book. Her essays, book reviews, and short fiction have appeared in The New York Times, Slate, Time, Virginia Quarterly Review, and elsewhere. She was born and raised in Washington, D.C., but has lived in Moscow, London, Amsterdam, Paris, and New York.
Books will be available for sale (and signing) by Greenlight Bookstore.