The Hungry Tide by Amitav Ghosh

Synopsis :

 Between the sea and the plains of Bengal lies an immense archipelago of islands.  Here, for hundreds of years, only the truly dispossessed braved the man-eating tigers and the crocodiles that rule there, to eke out a precarious existence from the mid.

 The settlers of the Sundarbans believe that anyone without a pure heart who ventures into the watery labyrinth will never return.  it is the arrival of Piya Roy, of Indian parentage but stubbornly American, and Kanai Dutt, a sophisticated Delhi businessman, that disturbs the delicate balance of settlement life.  From this moment, the tide begins to turn.


I'm on a journey to discover authors that are new to me (thus they are not necessary new authors but one that I have heard about, seen the books around but never read).  This journey brought me to one Amitav Ghosh.

How did I get hold of his book? Well, honestly, I have no idea but I have been having this book for quite a while now and recently it just called out to me and I decided to spend some time with it, mostly over lunch but sometimes at night just before bed too.

Do I like The Hungry Tide?   Ya, I do actually.  It is very different from what I have read before.  First of all, it is set in a fictitious town in India and secondly, the characters are very Indian and one of Indian heritage so like reading about the woman detective in Africa, reading about a couple of folks from a different culture certainly brought me to a different level of understanding of a different culture.

The fact that is is different itself is a welcomed change so I am appreciative of the book for that reason alone.  I have another of Amitav Ghosh book in my collection, Sea of Poppies which was shortlisted for the 2008 Man Booker Prize.  You can be sure that I will read it but just not anytime soon.

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