The book, The Fiction of Amitav Ghosh: A Critical Commentary critically examines various themes in the novels of Amitav Ghosh who is one of the leading contemporary Indian novelists writing in English and whose sphere of pursuits is very wide. He has made his mark in both fiction and non-fiction, but is best known for his novels, having been shortlisted for coveted Booker Prize for Sea of Poppies.
The anthology includes critical papers and articles of renowned and celebrated scholars of the respective field on the diverse aspects of Amitav Ghosh's novels. It is one of the finest books that critically assesses almost all aspects of Amitav Ghosh’s novels. This anthology of — scholarly and contemplated articles is not all about his novels. There are in addition, a tribute poem to Amitav Ghosh composed by Vivekanand Jha, and Lila Azam Zanganeh’s __ interesting interview with Amitav Ghosh, which further enhance the usefulness and expediency of the anthology.
This book will be useful for students and teachers of English literature and will further encourage critics and young researchers to turn their attention to this one of the most significant, celebrated and illustrious novelists of India.
Vivekanand Jha, M.A. Ph.D. in English, is a translator, editor and award winning poet. He is a contributing poet to Wavelengths: 2011 Savant Anthology of Poetry (USA) which won first place in the 2011 London Book Festival. He has been Poetry Contest Winner (Third Place Winner) for the poem "Hands Heave to Harm and Hamper" conducted by Beginners®, a documentary, graphic, non-fiction book series (USA). He has to his credit five books of poetry. He has also authored one critical book on the poetry of Jayanta Mahapatra and edited two critical anthologies on Indian English novels. His works have been published in more than seventy magazines around the world. Apart from that, his poems have been chosen and published in more than fifteen poetry anthologies. He has more than twenty research and critical articles published in various national and international anthologies and referred journals.
The essayist, journalist, writer, anthropologist and novelist, Amitav Ghosh is a gem, gifted and blessed author of Indian writing in English and he is the touchstone of genius, versatility and eternal and an incessant source of inspiration. He is a role model for amateur, ambitious and budding writers of India writing in Indian English. He is a widely read and travelled man, and right from India to Sri Lanka, Iran, Egypt, United Kingdom, United States and Bangladesh have remained his spots of exploration and experimentation in his comprehensive and burgeoning writing career. The son of a Lieutenant Colonel in Indian Army, he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and he encased all the amenities and facilities at his disposal in bolstering his academic acumen and literary career. Since Amitav Ghosh has travelled all around the world, his susceptibility and sensibility have been shaped by the socio-cultural heritage of India in particular and the rest of the world in general.
Amitav Ghosh has received several awards, honours and due recognition for his exceptional and exemplary endowment in the field of fiction, non-fiction, travelogue, history, anthropology and journalism. He has authored seven volumes of fiction and five volumes of non-fiction. Most of the novels authored by him turned out to be best sellers and he has been crowned with a number of coveted awards: The Prix Medicis Etrangére (1990); The Ananda Puraskar (1990); Sahitya Akademi Award (1990); Nomination for American Society of Magazine Editors Award (1999); The Arthur C. Clarke Award (1996); The Pushcart Prize (1999); Grand Prize for Fiction; Frankfurt eBook Award (2001); Crossword Book Award (2005); Finalist, Kiriyama Prize (2006); Padma Shri Award (2007); Grinzane Cavour Prize (2007); Asian-American Literary Award (2007); Shortlisted, Man Booker Prize (2008); Crossword Book Award (2009); India-plaza Golden Quill Award (2009); Dan David Prize (2010); and Blue Metropolis International Literary Grand Prix (2011). But more than receiving a host of honours and awards, Amitav Ghosh is deemed sincere, significant, non-conformist and popular. He turned down the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize in 2001 because the prize only recognized the writers and writings in English.
The novels of Amitav Ghosh are postulated by personal, nonconformist and extraordinarily contrived themes on the issues and aspects of subaltern, pre-colonialism, colonialism, post-colonialism, modernism and postmodernism. Both his fiction and non-fiction are teemed with homogeneous amalgamation and blend of variegated cultures, traditions and languages and the major thematic preoccupations of his writings are based upon impressive themes of travel, opium war, migration, historical facts, communal cruelty, political turmoil, corruption, caste politics, love, loss, travellers, diasporic exiles, struggle and strife. The epic like Ibis trilogy of which two-thirds of journey have already been explored with a great deal of fanfare, exuberance and achievement, remains so far the most ambitious and go-getting project of his life.
Turning towards the primary objective, it is heartening and stirring to see women taking a quantum leap and making galloping success in all walks of life, and they are peerless in their representations in language and literature too. The voice of women authors applauding the fiction of Amitav Ghosh reverberates in this anthology also, and out of twenty-four contributors of this anthology fifteen are women’s voices. This is a revolutionary upsurge of feminine participation in the area of Indian English literature.
Now it’s time to have a cursory glance on the core thematic thrust of every contributor of this anthology. The commencement of the book has been done with a tribute poem to Amitav Ghosh by me. The session of articles is inaugurated by Dr. Neerja Arun who dwells into the treatment of history as presented by the shadows in the novel, The Shadow Lines. The paper by Indira Nityanandam richly thrashes out the significance of time and space in the novel, The Calcutta Chromosome. Deepak Thakur throws light on contemporary theory and analyses the theme of the subaltern in the novel, In an Antique Land. The article by Anju Bala Agrawal studies Ghosh’s female characters who are the hallmark of female consciousness and are capable of paddling their own canoe. The paper by Dinesh Kumar opulently takes up the issues of migration, gender and nationality that dominate the novel, The Hungry Tide. My own article exhaustively traces out the working of imageries and other figures of speech in the novel, River of Smoke.
Rajnish Mishra highlights skilful narration of opium trading by Amitav Ghosh in the novel, River of Smoke. Vishwanath Bite digs out both medieval and contemporary treatment of the theme in the novel, In an Antique Land. Ch. Swathi incorporates various issues of marginality, forgotten and neglected history and people representing them with respect to the novel, Sea of Poppies. Vandana Rajoriya warrants the attention of readers on stark realities of life and struggling of both men and women characters for their survival in the novel, The Glass Palace. A. Sujatha converses the role played by opium in India with respect to socio-environmental perspective in the novel, Sea of Poppies. Dalvir Singh Gahlawat and Suman Yadav elucidate the issues of demarcation which may cause even a sense of insecurity among the people with respect to the novel, The Shadow Lines. Prof. Saykar Satish Govind centres his attention on the themes of partition and communal conflict in the novel, The Shadow Lines. Neeta Dhumal has weaved collectively the sufferings of orphan, dispossessed and distressed characters of the novel, Sea of Poppies. Prof. Shyam Chothani highlights orthodox experimentation and discovery in the novel, The Calcutta Chromosome.
**Contents and Sample Pages**
For privacy concerns, please view our Privacy Policy
Send as free online greeting card
Email a Friend
Manage Wishlist