The Shadow Lines
A Novel
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4.1 • 8 Ratings
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
"A stunning novel" following two families—one British, one Bengali—from the New York Times–bestselling author of Sea of Poppies (The New Republic).
Opening in Calcutta in the 1960s, Amitav Ghosh's radiant second novel follows an English family and a Bengali family as their lives intertwine across the generations in both tragic and comic ways. The narrator, Indian born and English educated, traces events back and forth in time, from the outbreak of World War II to the late twentieth century, through years of Bengali partition and violence—observing the ways in which political events invade private lives—in an "ambitious, funny, poignant" saga (A. K. Ramanujan).
"Amusing, sad, wise, and truly international in scope." —The New York Times Book Review
Customer Reviews
Remembering
A very good novel set in India (Calcutta), England, and Bangladesh (Dhaka). The author renders these places beautifully — the luscious and the hideous. But mostly the book is about growing up, memory, longing, illusion. It’s very expertly done, a gripping read. I ended up most taken with the grandmother and most frustrated by Ila. I’m not sure if Ila was disappointing because I expected the author to do more with her, or whether he intended Ila to be the big contradiction she seemed to be.