About the Author

Amitav Ghosh was born in Calcutta in 1956. He grew up in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and India. He studied at the universities of Delhi and Oxford and published the first of eight novels, The Circle of Reason in 1986. He currently divides his time between Calcutta, Goa and Brooklyn. The first novel in his Ibis trilogy, Sea of Poppies, was shortlisted for the Man Booker prize.

Reviews

With sweeping exuberant style and extraordinary linguistic facility Ghosh takes us into a world where desperate refugees trickle through borders like water from melting ice, but where massing animals find no escapes. Old legends and ancient myths take on new meaning. This important novel is an account of our current world, the one few writers have had the courage to face - Annie ProulxA rich and rewarding novel that reaffirms the transformative power of topographical and human connection, and registers the rhythms of the quiet and the unquiet life - The SpectatorAmitav Ghosh's Gun Island is an extraordinary reading experience from one of our greatest living storytellers. Ghosh masterfully collocates disparate worlds to create a story of family, self, history, and destiny - Neel MukherjeeA book of reckless and persuasive scope, a huge, rambunctious reckoning with our environmental declension - Sunday TimesA mad, mystical migration saga - Sunday Times CultureIn its blend of science, history, myth and contemporary relevance, Gun Island offers a rich mix of ideas - iIt demonstrates how the particular genius of the novel can be deployed to examine the subject of climate change in ways beyond the scope of journalism, history or documentary. Gun Island shows us how the psychological compulsions for order and security that drive our unwillingness to confront climate change are about to be first unsettled and then destroyed - Literary ReviewA compelling book-a sinuous and often gripping piece of storytelling, satisfyingly shaped and beautifully written - Prospect