Gun Island by Amitav Ghosh

Bundook. Gun. A common word, but one which 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. There is Piya, a fellow Bengali-American who sets his journey in motion; Tipu, an entrepreneurial young man who opens Deen's eyes to the realities of growing up in today's world; Rafi, with his desperate attempt to help someone in need; and Cinta, an old friend who provides the missing link in the story they are all a part of. It is a journey which will upend everything he thought he knew about himself, about the Bengali legends of his childhood and about the world around him. Gun Island is a beautifully realised novel which 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.

I found this to be a surprisingly light read. I enjoyed all the characters involved and found them really sympathetic. The novel is very 21st century in a way that I'm not actually used to reading, but I enjoyed how much of it was really just the world as it is, with no excuses on how terrible people and the world can be but simply stating it as how it is.
I did have a bit of a problem with the way this book was written, but it didn't mean that I was unable to enjoy the story. But it is written in a way that with every meeting comes a new story/tale, and sometimes these stories just felt too much like plot points rather than organic storytelling. I also found some issues with the dialogue, but overall it was good, enjoyable.
I honestly think my biggest gripe with it has to do with Tipu's stubbornness. He's in a distinct situation where he can ask for help from people who care about him, instead of doing things the hard way, but he doesn't make use of it, and risks his life (and Rafi's) several times because of it. That was really annoying and unnecessary in my opinion.

Picked the book up from the library last night. Finished it now. The only breaks were for visitors and sleep. An unputdownable book, specially for anyone who likes Amitava Ghosh's mixing of cultures and timelines, fiction and facts.

I guess I start out by saying I have really liked Amitav Ghosh's other books - I have read most of them, and when I picked up this one I saved it for a while before reading it. Unfortunately, it is by far the one I have enjoyed least.I have put the most part of this review in a spoiler, as it does discuss the main themes of the book.For me, it tried to address too many of the world critical environmental and social issues - rising sea levels, rising ocean temperatures, habitat changes, wild weather patterns, migration pattern changes, pollution, climate change in general; refugees, the oil industry, inequality, people trafficking, the arms trade. Then throw in some magical themes - precognitive awareness, spirit guidance, communication with the no longer living, and, yeah, all too much. Ghosh's strength in his previous books has been his excellent characters and his ability to weave an intricate story around them. He picks up on historical events and researches them carefully to run an authentic story line, and with his excellent descriptive writing sets it all beautifully.In my view this was missing from the most part of this book.The characters had potential, but never filled out. The historical events - this was the folk tale of the Gun Merchant and the temple on the Sundarbans, and the descriptions of the Sundarbans (and Venice) were good, and at least the folk tale fleshed out well in the dialogue. However the other characters were all wooden, they seemed to only exist to provide an answer to a puzzle piece, or were introduced to later play a part in the resolution. I not only didn't like the characters, they were more than unlikeable, they were awful.Also a miss for me were the way all the pieces fell into place so readily. There were just too many simple answers, usually proffered by a character almost unprompted. Much of the dialogue also stunk of info-dumping, and while it moved the story along it was unnatural and clunky.Then there was the obvious environmental preaching. I could have taken a little of this - it is obviously something Ghosh is now passionate about - but it was all a bit much. Dolphins, whales and birds saving the day, um, yeah, no, terrible ending.So for me very disappointing, and I really must re-read some of the books by Ghosh that I loved. If the fiction world is headed towards climate change based novels, I will be steering clear. If you want the Sundarbans, the go for his [b:The Hungry Tide 894273 The Hungry Tide Amitav Ghosh https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1342477473l/894273.SY75.jpg 981525], which is streets ahead!Another reviewer called this ‘Dan Brownesque' with the simple way it rolled out and answers found Deen, our main character. That seems about right. Where did Ghosh, the master storyteller go?First dud of the year for me.2 sad stars.