Amitav Ghosh

Ghosh promoting River of Smoke in 2011.

Ghosh is the author of The Circle of Reason (his 1986 debut novel), The Shadow Lines (1988), The Calcutta Chromosome (1995), The Glass Palace (2000), The Hungry Tide (2004) and Gun Island (2019).

Ghosh began working on what became The Ibis trilogy in 2004.[14] Set in the 1830s, its story follows the build-up of the First Opium War across China and the Indian Ocean region.[15] Its first instalment Sea of Poppies (2008) was shortlisted for the 2008 Man Booker Prize.[16] This was followed by River of Smoke (2011) and the third, Flood of Fire (2015) completed the trilogy.[16][17]

The Shadow Lines that won him the Sahitya Akademi Award "throws light on the phenomenon of communal violence and the way its roots have spread deeply and widely in the collective psyche of the Indian subcontinent".[18] Most of his work deals with historical settings, especially in the Indian Ocean periphery. In an interview with Mahmood Kooria, he said: "It was not intentional, but sometimes things are intentional without being intentional. Though it was never part of a planned venture and did not begin as a conscious project, I realise in hindsight that this is really what always interested me most: the Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea, the Indian Ocean, and the connections and the cross-connections between these regions."[19]

Ghosh's Gun Island, published in 2019, deals with climate change and human migration, drew praise[20] from critics. According to a review in the Columbia Journal, "This is Ghosh at his tenacious, exhausted best—marrying a mythical tale from his homeland with the plight of the human condition, all the while holding up a mirror to the country that he now calls home, as well as providing a perhaps too optimistic perspective on the future of our climate! "[21] The novel creates a world of realistic fiction, challenging the agency of its readers to act upon the demands of the environment. The use of religion, magical realism, coincidences, and climate change come together to create a wholesome story of strife, trauma, adventure, and mystery. The reader takes on the journey to solve the story of The Gun Merchant and launches themselves into the destruction of nature and the effects of human actions. Ghosh transforms the novel through his main character, his story, and the very prevalent climate crisis. The novel is advertently a call to action intertwined in an entertaining plot.The Guardian however, noted Ghosh's tendency to go on tangents, calling it "a shaggy dog story" that "can take a very roundabout path towards reality, but it will get there in the end."[22]

In 2021, Ghosh published his first book in verse, Jungle Nama, which explores the Sundarbans legend of Bon Bibi.[23]

Ghosh's notable non-fiction writings are In an Antique Land (1992), Dancing in Cambodia and at Large in Burma (1998), Countdown (1999), and The Imam and the Indian (2002, a collection of essays on themes such as fundamentalism, the history of the novel, Egyptian culture, and literature. His writings appear in newspapers and magazines in India and abroad. In The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable (2016), Ghosh discussed modern literature and art as failing to adequately address climate change.[24]

In 2021, The Nutmeg's Curse: Parables for a Planet in Crisis was published. In it, Ghosh discussed the journey of nutmeg from its native Banda Islands to many other parts of the world, taking this as a lens through which to understand the historical influence of colonialism upon attitudes towards Indigenous cultures and environmental change.[25][26] In his latest work, Smoke and Ashes: A Writer's Journey Through Opium's Hidden Histories (2023), Ghosh presents his research on the history of opium. The history behind the First Opium War also serves as the background to his Ibis Trilogy (2008–12).[27]

Ghosh speaking at an event with Joni Adamson in 2017.

The Circle of Reason won the Prix Médicis étranger, one of France's top literary awards.[28] The Shadow Lines won the Sahitya Akademi Award and the Ananda Puraskar.[29] The Calcutta Chromosome won the Arthur C. Clarke Award for 1997.[30] Sea of Poppies was shortlisted for the 2008 Man Booker Prize.[31] It was the co-winner of the Vodafone Crossword Book Award in 2009, as well as co-winner of the 2010 Dan David Prize.[32] River of Smoke was shortlisted for the Man Asian Literary Prize 2011. The government of India awarded him the civilian honour of Padma Shri in 2007.[33] He also received – together with Margaret Atwood – the Israeli Dan David Prize.[34]

Ghosh famously withdrew his novel The Glass Palace from consideration for the Commonwealth Writers' Prize, where it was awarded the best novel in the Eurasian section, citing his objections to the term "commonwealth" and the unfairness of the English language requirement specified in the rules.[35]

Ghosh received the lifetime achievement award at Tata Literature Live, the Mumbai LitFest on 20 November 2016.[36] He was conferred the 54th Jnanpith award in December 2018 and is the first Indian writer in English to have been chosen for this honour.[37]