I finished reading Gun Island, by one of my favourite authors, Amitav Ghosh (see my blogs on The Glass Palace and Amitav Ghosh), on our first weekend away since the end of lockdown in May. It follows the story of Deen Datta, from his home selling rare books in Brooklyn, to the Sundarbans in the Bay of Bengal, to Venice by way of Los Angeles, all as part of a journey to uncover the mystery behind a hidden away temple, and in service to two women, Piya and Cinta.

Cinta is Deen’s old friend who helped him long ago when he was just starting out in his career in the US, having moved from Calcutta as a student. On one of his annual trips back to India he meets up with his famous philanthropist aunt, who introduces him to Piya, a marine biologist whose work in the Sundarbans means that she can help Deen to find an ancient temple. He ventures out across the mud to the small island and finds the temple and has the first of many narrow escapes with the natural world, whilst he begins to find himself sucked into a supernatural world.

Calamity follows Deep from then on, as he comes face to face with forest fires, falling masonry and poisonous spiders, and begins to make connections between the temple, ancient trade routes that lead to Venice and modern-day migration from the Indian subcontinent to Europe. All the while his old friend Cinta is there as Deen’s life begins to unravel, and Piya is also there offering Deen some hope of what a new life might look like.

This is a tantalising and beautiful book, which explores the human dominance of the planet, links between this world and the next, and links between the past and the present. It is a brilliant and hugely enjoyable read.