CBE Dayenu Circle and CBE Book Group Joint Discussion of Gun Island by Amitav Ghosh
Tuesday April 20 at 7:30 PM over Zoom
Bundook. Gun. A common word, but one that turns Deen Datta’s world upside down. A dealer of rare books, Deen is used to a quiet life spent indoors, but as his once-solid beliefs begin to shift, he is forced to set out on an extraordinary journey; one that takes him from India to Los Angeles and Venice via a tangled route through the memories and experiences of those he meets along the way. It is a journey that will upend everything he thought he knew about himself, about the Bengali legends of his childhood, and about the world around him. A beautifully realized novel that effortlessly spans space and time, it is the story of a world on the brink, of increasing displacement and unstoppable transition. But it is also a story of hope, of a man whose faith in the world and the future is restored by two remarkable women.
"Gun Island deals with two of the biggest issues of the current moment: climate change and human migration. The confidence with which he shapes a good, old-fashioned diversion around these particular poles is instructive...That Ghosh is able to sustain the book’s momentum when its primary inquiry is so cerebral is no mean feat... Gun Island is a novel for our times." - The Washington Post