Think of a story set with Sunderbans in backdrop. Enchanting, magical, captivating…
Amitav Ghosh’s sixth writing “The Hungry tide” published in 2005 can be called all of the above and more.
The story revolves around Piyali Roy, a young marine biologist who lands in Sunderbans with a series of bad incidents to search for Dolphins in Bay of Bengal, Fokir, a local fisherman who saves her and Kanai Dutt, the acting translator and the narrator of most art of the story.
Kanai meets Piyali on his way to meet her aunt at Sunderbans and offers her a stay in her house. He spend most of his time reading his uncle’s memoirs which narrate the incidents around the Morichjhanpi massacre incident of 1978-79. It sets the back drop of the story till Piyali finally reaches his house and narrates her story of multiple bad experiences and her journey to his house after Fokir saved him.
With Kanai as translator, she convinces Fokir to take her to the backwaters in search of Dolphins. Their journey to the backwaters and the hidden surprises leave an everlasting impression.
Why I reviewed The Hungry Tide is because similar to other works by Amitav Ghosh, it leaves an ever lasting impression. A few paragraphs and sentences stay with you forever. Amitav Ghosh’s style of blending facts and fictions is unique and the book leaves you wondering and researching what is real and what is fiction.
A must read, a book that you would like to read before you go to bed. I rate the book 4 out of 5.
This post is part of my ongoing project 30 days 30 books. Read Day 11 review by Richa Singh who reviewed "The last Lecture" by Randy Pausch.
Nice write up. "Hungry Tide" is my most favorite of Amitav Ghosh' works. The characters of Fokir and Kanai and the backgrounds are very well etched out. It takes us to that time and place, remaining forever in our mind.
ReplyDeleteCompelling review. Would buy this next.
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