PositiveAsian Review of BooksOn the face of it, this work offers a continuity of many of Ghosh’s concerns in his fiction, among them memory...history...ecology...and the inexplicable...It would not be wrong to say that all these elements make Gun Island what it is, the intersection of individual trajectories with larger forces affecting the world. And yet, this is not a novel that can be appreciated for its delineation of character or breathtaking plot or an engrossingly rich experience that you emerge from only when it’s all over. No, it is a work that you must take a break from frequently to think about unfamiliar things, process new ideas, challenge your own understanding of life ... Climate change, present and past, is the glue in this novel, sticking together different geographies—and histories—around the world ... There is much in this novel that is being mirrored by the present-day reality—or perhaps it is the novel that is the mirror. In that sense, reading the book is never quite an escape or temporary exit from the world out there, for we have no choice but to inhabit both.
