Thursday, October 21, 2010

The Calcutta Chromosome - Amitav Ghosh

Amitav Ghosh's work was introduced to me in the days of my convalescence from typhoid. Apart from the few other interesting books that I had managed to finish in my monotonic surroundings of the days, Ghosh's "In An Antique Land" was one that impressed me in ways more than one. So on my last visit to the bookstore, I picked up "The Calcutta Chromosome" with an intent to read more of the man who had benevolently helped me kill some cumbersome time.

"The Calcutta Chromosome" turned out to be a surprise. I had expected something on the similar lines as "In An Ancient Land". But it was far from the theme. Ghosh made a very disheartening attempt at science fiction. The plot was perhaps the only saving grace. The choice of words and the style of writing were so bleak that I found myself thinking that I could have done a better job than him! And then there was the very sudden and abrupt mention of sex in the story. Ill fitted and much inconvenient to the plot, it only went to show the outrageous fixation of the contemporary readership with the explicitness of sex.

The plot revolves around a malarial research and the history involved in it. It moves in the past, present and the future, with bits and pieces of the stories unfurling simultaneously. Though not very gripping in the beginning, it turns out well towards the middle. It was a bitter disappointment that the plot turned to the supernatural and sex as a resort for covering up a weak ending.

Ghosh surely deserves credit for the vast research that must have accompanied the project (I am assuming that he has his facts straight), but it seems that the story was written in a hurry with little review. Although I hate ridiculing the author like this (he did help me against boredom), I could never gather the courage to pick up another book that has "Amitav Ghosh" imprinted on its covers. I still recommend "In An Antique Land", but the phantom of it is lost in the abyss that "The Calcutta Chromosome" created. Ironically I had forgot about reading this book completely until I was recently reminded by my friend. I intended to be laconic in the review but the disappointment is overwhelming.

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