Gun Island - Amitav Ghosh

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I hadn't read Amitav Ghosh in a long time, all I remember was that his books took me a while to read when I was younger. But surprisingly this book of his was a quick read. The 'fantastic' element easy to wrap my head around now than when I was younger. I never had the ability to be certain and nowadays I lose it (certainty) on a daily basis. Maya is all in our heads. And with this evolving openness Amitav's universe was all too real - environmental crisis, the madness of jumping continents and time and even the uplifting and superbly unreal climax. I believed every thing was possible, not in the 'business world chase your dream while you kill others way' but in the 'what is wrong can truly be righted universal way'.

Many did not like the book - and I understand why. His style in this book is skimming and diving, it gets a bit dizzying. And it is easy to lose interest and the plot.

I also saw the climate crisis he talks about as factual and not doomsday mongering. We just have to go back a millennia or two to see the impact of climate, migration and therefore catastrophes to know that though some of it is in our control, much of it is not. We will slow it down if we respect the space we live in but will not completely be able to stop it. In my opinion, the weave of the environmental migration was a look into our own past, which will become our present and future.

The characters were the ones I couldn't completely relate too - there was a 2-d ness to most of them but the story and the way he plays with space, time and place was utterly magical. The historical knowledge he brings in itself is worth the time. A book worth reading whether you are an ardent Ghosh fan or not.