Reviews with content warning for Animal death - The Hungry Tide

Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

The Hungry Tide by Amitav Ghosh

7 reviews

fullnessofjoy's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? N/A
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I had to read this book for a class I am teaching, and as someone who has struggled to connect with most ecocritical literature, or climate fiction specifically, I was surprised by how much I loved this novel. Perhaps because it takes into consideration the subaltern, postcolonial perspective, or perhaps it is because it is so deeply engaged in themes of language, intertextuality, translation, and myths and stories - or perhaps it is because the way Ghosh writes about the Sundabarns, the tide country, is so haunting and beautiful and terrifying, I got swept in by the ebb and flow of each line. Here are some of my favourite quotes/passages:

“And now, indeed, everything began to look new, unexpected, full of surprises. I had a book in my hands to while away the time, and it occurred to me that in a way a landscape is not unlike a book--a compilation of pages that overlap without any two ever being the same. People open the book according to their taste and training, their memories and desires: for a geologist the compilation opens at one page, for a boatman at another, and still another for a ship's pilot, a painter and so on. On occasion these pages are ruled with lines that are invisible to some people, while being for others as real, as charged and as volatile as high-voltage cables.”

“Who are we? We are the dispossessed. How strange it was to hear this plaintive cry wafting across the water. It seemed at that moment not to be a shout of defiance but rather a question being addressed to the very heavens, not just for themselves but on behalf of a bewildered humankind. Who, indeed, are we? Where do we belong? And as I listened to the sound of those syllables, it was as if I were hearing the deepest uncertainties of my heart being spoken to the rivers and the tides. Who was I? Where did I belong? In Calcutta or in the tide country? In India or across the border? In prose or in poetry?”

“As I thought of these things, it seemed to me that this whole world had become a place of animals, and our fault, our crime, was that we were just human beings, trying to live as human beings always have, from the water and the soil. No one could think this a crime unless they have forgotten that this is how humans have always lived—by fishing, by clearing land and by planting the soil.”

“already know by instinct
we're not comfortably at home
in our translated world.”
― Amitav Ghosh, The Hungry Tide

Content Warnings

remuslibrary's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional informative reflective tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

abbie_'s review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

4.5

Very glad of my TBR challenge for making me get around to this book that I put off for far too long! It’s beautifully written and utterly fascinating, with a cast of compelling characters. I didn’t know anything about the refugee settlement of Marichjhapi, and the subsequent massacre that occurred there. The Hungry Tide also sheds light on issues of conservationism in India and the effect it has on people there, especially poorer people. The descriptions of the jungle and rivers were captivating, super evocative. The ending was very intense, and Ghosh does a great job of depicting the brutality of nature and weather. Highly recommend!

Content Warnings