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

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

by Amitav Ghosh

From Victorian lndia to near-future New York, The Calcutta Chromosome takes readers on a wondrous journey through time as a computer programmer trapped in a mind-numbing job hits upon a curious item that will forever change his life. When Antar discovers the battered I.D. card of a long-lost acquaintance, he is suddenly drawn into a spellbinding adventure across centuries and around the... (read more)

Top tags: fiction,  india,  amitav ghosh,  medical thriller,  calcutta (all tags)

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  • Brilliant Babes (And Dudes) Who Read Selectively Discussion Group
  • Indian Writing and Indian Literature Discussion Group
  • Indian Writing in English Discussion Group
  • indian sci-fi/fantasy Discussion Group

Other Reviews

Amazon Reviews
 

Most Helpful Reviews

Liked It

Abhirup S
  • Rated 4 stars

“An incredible literary talent, this author. He is one of the few authors that I truly salute- the greatest exponents of the word processor. Here he is excellent with a taut biological thriller. Admirable because he really doesn't write such stuff.”

Abhirup S’s full review »
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Didn’t Like It

sanchitabanerjeerodrigues
  • Rated 2 stars

“It's an awesome chaotic ride, shifting from past to future, and as the book goes on, it gets more complicated as more and more twisted connections are revealed. Finally, at the end of the book, all the threads have been tied together into a tangled mass that has no beginning or end.”

sanchitabanerjeerodrigues’s full review »
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Community:
  • Rated 3.317073 stars
Amazon:
  • Rated 3.466667 stars
  

Newest Comments

  • roop

    roop said:

    “Just finished it, and went "What?!" when I figured there was no more of the novel. The novel builds up big time towards a climax that isn't there. After looking frantically for the chapter after the last, I've promptly gotten on to the net to see what folks make of it. And I discover that no one's really talking on the lines that I would've gone off, like "What the $@%# does this ending mean?" :)

    (spoiler alert - if you havent read the book, dont read ahead)

    So what do you folks think is really the intended ending? I would say: Urmila is actually Tara, having become Tara by the calcutta chromosome (by transcending herself onto the next generation), just like Laakhan of the British Raj survives to Phulboni's times as a killer. And Antar is the one who's gonna make the final connection in the schemes of Mangala. Of what the scheme is, Ghosh doesnt want anyone to know.”

    posted Tuesday, October 28 2008
  • Marcus

    marcus said:

    “I like the character of the scientist in Heroes, and the fact that he is Indian [ I'm Anglo-Indian, btw]. Your plot summary seems reminiscent of the heroes plot.
    Having been to Calcutta, I'm not surprised people disappear and even lose parts of their personality there! It's a mess.”

    posted Sunday, June 8 2008
  • pradipto b

    pradipto b said:

    “The story is excellent but the explanation for everything hapening is not quite clear...i still had some gaps after finishing it.”

    posted Wednesday, December 5 2007
  • Kaydee

    kaydee said:

    “an unfinished masterpiece.....antar's journey, the history of malaria, the cure and the revolution all twists and twirls into a final vortexial climax that leaves you thinking and more”

    posted Friday, August 10 2007
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