Afterwards

Winner of the Prix Medici Etranger Award. Following the form of the raga in Indian classical music Amitav Ghosh slowly builds the tempo of The Circle of Reason. The first part spans several decades the second unfolds over a few weeks and the third like a scherzo races through a day. Ghosh’s debut novel centers on Alu an orphan enlisted by his foster father as a soldier in his crusade against the forces of myth and unreason. Suspected of terrorism they are about to be arrested when a tragic accident forces Alu to flee his village. Pursued by a misguided police officer Alu finds his way through Calcutta to Goa and on to a trawler that runs illegal immigrants to Africa. Tracing Alu’s journey across two continents The Circle of Reason is an exceptional novel by one of India’s most celebrated writers in English. Review (Accidents Like Love...) is great fun to read and pulls off a rare combination of lightness and irony. --The Telegraph(Ancient Promises is) a brilliant debut.... The narration is amazingly simple yet intensely alive. --The TribuneJaishree Misra... weaves complex emotions and leaves the reader wanting for more. --The Pioneer