There is a collection of essays about Amitav Ghosh (Amitav Ghosh - a critical companion) which has been edited by Tabish Khair. After a long gap, I am back in touch with Ghosh's work.
The book promises to be a good read which will throw insights into this writer's novels and essays which are born of this curious mix of history, anthropology and fiction. It is fascinating to see experts analyse various theories of anthropology that underlie the construction of the author's major novels.
Analyses of works of fiction always indicate that story-telling is a very conscious art. It only appears spontaneous and is most often carefully thought out and scientifically (in this case) carved out. But there must have been a stage when the story just came out and wrote itself. Are those not the truest stories that need to be told and listened to?
A wonderful addition to this set of critical essays is Ghosh's own piece on Satyajit Ray, his idol of Bengali cinema. A poignant note is struck when Ghosh discloses that despite his obvious near-devotional admiration of Ray, he never actually met the latter and only had extended phone conversations with him... Still it sets a tone of seriousness and sentiment for the book.
I look forward to reading more of this book.
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