Gun Island

With the melodic cadence of South Asian-accented English, Sagar Arya narrates this mystical novel about a rare book dealer embarking on a journey that involves multiple continents. Deen Datta follows the threads of an ancient Bengali legend, barely remembered from his childhood, from New York to India, Venice, and the site of an ancient shrine in a remote place called Gun Island. Arya provides colorful inflections for Deen and his various Asian-American friends who provide critical keys to unlocking the mystery he is pursuing. The descriptions of global environmental crisis and immigration issues, which are sometimes dry and lengthy, are narrated diligently. Ayra is most successful at recounting Deen's astonishing discoveries and the plight of his friends. N.M.C. � AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine

July 29, 2019
Ghosh’s latest (after Flood of Fire) is an intellectual romp that traces Bengali folklore, modern human trafficking, and the devastating effects of climate change across generations and countries. Dinanath Datta, who goes by the more Americanized Deen, is an antiques and rare-books dealer in Brooklyn. While in Calcutta, Deen encounters the tale of the Bonduki Sadagar, or the gun merchant, a localized riff on the familiar Bengali tale of a merchant and Manasa Devi, the goddess of snakes and poisonous creatures. Intrigued, Deen pays a visit to the Sundarbans, the borderlands from which the myth originated. At the shrine said to be protected by Manasa Devi, Deen encounters a snake that bites one of the young men with him, with nonfatal but mystical consequences. Shaken, but convinced that it was just a freak coincidence, the rationalist Deen returns to America, where his trip still haunts him. A tumultuous year and a half later, under the patronage of his dear friend Cinta, a glamorous Italian academic, Deen arrives in Venice for the book’s second half, where he befriends the local Bengali community and further uncovers the tale of the Bonduki Sadagar as he is drawn into relief efforts for the refugee crisis. Ghosh writes with deep intelligence and illuminating clarity about complex issues. This ambitious novel memorably draws connections among history, politics, and mythology.

August 1, 2020

Arya Sagar, who has dozens of Indian/South Asian audio credits, enhances Ghosh's ("Ibis" trilogy) already penetrating around-the-world mythic quest with his mellifluous narration, especially heightened with (mostly) agile adjustments for regional accents. Ghosh's peripatetic hero, Deen Dutta, is an earnest Brooklyn-based rare books dealer, who at the end of his annual Calcutta visit, gets wind of an obscure Bengali folktale about the so-called Gun Merchant. His impromptu trip to an obscure area of the Sunderbans in the Bay of Bengal connects him with the most unexpected people and pasts. Enabled by an enigmatic Italian scholar and a Portland marine biologist, Deen criss-crosses the globe from India to Los Angeles, bearing witness to the consequences of environmental destruction, colonial theft and cultural appropriation, global migration, and refugee devastation. Heads up for Ghosh groupies: he resurrects quite a few of his characters from The Hungry Tide. So lyrical and melodious is Sagar's reading that the occasional aural misses feel particularly jarring, and his American English accents aren't always convincing. VERDICT Small missteps aside, Ghosh's latest deserves utmost attention in any and every format.--Terry Hong, Smithsonian BookDragon, Washington, DC

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