Gun Island
Growing up, I've listened to my mother read out stories and folk lore about gods and goddesses as prayers. As a kid, these stories enthralled me and I'd listen to them with rapt attention. One such story was that of Devi Manasha and Behula. And it is one of those stories that form the backdrop of Amitav Ghosh's new novel Gun Island. Based on the legend of the Bonduki Saudagar and Devi Manasha, the book is set years after the end of Ghosh's previous book, The Hungry Tide. While in The Hungry Tide, Ghosh took us on a journey of the beautifully dangerous waters and jungles of the Sunderbans, in Gun Island, he takes us from the waters of Sundarbans to Venice and then further out to the ocean. Dinanath Dutta or Deen, the rare books dealer, Cinta, the Venetian historian and Piya, the marine biologist from the previous book form the pillars of Gun Island. Fakir's son, Tipu and Rafi, one of the last descendents of the entrusted caretaker of the shrine of the god