Publisher– Harpercollins
Pages– 560
The genius Amitav Ghosh
Amitav Ghosh, the Indian born writer often regarded as the writer for the post-colonial British era. Amitav Ghosh came up with a solid engaging dramatical theme based on the then Burma, now known as Myanmar with his novel The Glass Palace.
Summary
The Calcutta Chromosome writer’s The Glass Palace is based on the 1880’s. The protagonist being Rajkumar, a romantically ambitious lad who is lured by the palace of his place which houses the Burmese royal family.
The plot moves forward with his desire to get into and discover the insights of the palace called the Glass Palace here also believed to have “shining crystal walls and mirrored ceilings.”. Reminds of the philosophy of the Glass Ceiling here.
Which he ultimately did when in 1885 the British invaded and looted the Royal Palace. The locals rushed in too in a hope to find some leftover bits of the treasure. But ironically Rajkumar got his gem. He fell for the enchanting royal servant Dolly.
Other half of the narration
But his heart was soon to be crushed when the family had to leave for India on exile.
The then Rajkumar works and finds fame in the teak industry while Dolly walks alongside the family in Ratnagiri, a ghostly Indian village. The plot drifts as Rajkumar meets Dolly again after two long decades and marries her bearing children.
The focus is then drawn to the younger generation. Some of the characters were introduced solely with the motive to narrate the horrors of war and colonialism.
My Review on the Book
The novel’s narration sounds no less than narration in an epic like Mahabharat, getting insights of every possible aspect from a vivid range of perspectives, of course, if you tend to look the other sides of it. The storytelling is too vivid and dramatic and can be found similar to Khaled Hosseini. The glass palace as a novel of history and colonialism
Though it’s not a suitable read for light readers especially as the plot slows down at certain points and 100% a no for readers of pop fiction. the glass palace by Amitav Ghosh is an unputdownable book for sure.
Buy his latest 2019 book, Gun Island
