The Calcutta Chromosome: A Novel of Fevers, Delirium and Discovery

The Calcutta Chromosome: A Novel of Fevers, Delirium and Discovery Book Description

The Calcutta Chromosome The Calcutta Chromosome: A Novel of Fevers, Delirium and Discovery
Now in paper back edition, this astonishing novel of Fevers, Delirium and Discovery ranges back and forth in time from an unspecified period in the future to the late nineteenth century in search of elusive 'Calcutta Chromosome'. A medical thriller, a Victorian ghost story, a scientific quest'this astonishing novel ranges back and forth in time from an unspecified period in the future to the late nineteenth century in search of the elusive 'Calcutta Chromosome?. It dramatizes the adventures of the enigmatic L Morgan, an authority on Sir Ronald Ross ' the Nobel Prize-winning scientist who solved the malaria puzzle in Calcutta in 1898. With its extraordinary range of characters, advanced computer science, religious cults and wonderful portraits of Victorian and contemporary India, this is the novel in which Amitav Ghosh takes on the avatar of science thriller-writer. Winner of the Arthur C Clark Award, this is another major novel by India's most accomplished writer of English fiction.

About the Author(s)
Amitav Ghosh was born in Kolkata. He studied and taught in Delhi and got his D.Phil. from Oxford University for his anthropological work on Egypt. His Novels and travelogues have made him one of Indias best-known writers. His books have been translated into several languages.

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By Anita, 23/07/2008 16:16:13

The Calcutta Chromosome was fun, and I don't at all regret buying the book. Amitav Ghosh writes skillfully about the malaria in Calcutta. The plot is intriguing, and the world he creates is rich and enticing. A fascinating and nicely paced mix of sci-fi of Arthur C Clarke and mysticism of India. The story revolves around Antar, a low-level programmer and data analyst for a big bureaucratic firm. A man was disappeared several years ago in Calcutta. Antar initiates the search of that man and reveals the truth. The book takes the reader through a variety of characters lives and ideas. Ghosh's psychedelic take on the discovery of the malaria parasite in Calcutta of the British Raj, combined with a strange combination of psychology, reincarnation and the future of the internet as the "global mind". To Ghosh's credit, the descriptions of rundown future Manhattan, the teeming life of contemporary Calcutta, and turn of the century colonial India are all first rate. The sequence of the ghost train is superb. This book has all the ingredients fun, exotic locations, history, mysticism and a bit science that make it a top-notch.

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