The Shadow Lines: A Novel Paperback – May 3, 2005

I really enjoyed this book, and it brought a new perspective to the things going on in Asia from a child’s perspective.

I listened to the book thru the audible version.. the reader is really good and it's great to hear the correct pronunciation of names and places. I have read Ghosh's Ibis Triology and 'The Glass Palace' and highly recommend them. This book I had some trouble following as it jumps back and forth in time constantly but it's still very good. His novels so far have all been historic and this is no exception and I got the sense it was literally an autobiography. I would say to read the Ibis Triolgy first as you will absolutely fall in love with this and learn a lot of history during the voyage. Then you might, like I am doing, read all his writings. I can't say enough about the audible versions... it's as if they come alive with the reader giving separate voices to males, females, young, old, Indian, English, Chinese, etc...I awe at how they do this at speed.

I found this book intriguing in many ways - moving between Calcutta and London. The writing is always elegant and the characters well drawn but having read the first two parts of his trilogy "Sea of poppies" and "River of smoke" I was disappointed by the more pedestrian subject matter. His main characters, Tridib, Ila and May always remained shadowy and I couldn't help compare them to those of the full blooded and fully fleshed out people in the aforementioned books.

I could really not understand about the first 50 pages of this book, but when I finally realized what the author was doing, I understood it and really enjoyed it, and hate to see the book end. Amitav Ghosh is a great and talented writer, and quite inventive in how he intertwines so many characters from so many unlikely places. Before reading this book, if you are a novice to India's history during and after the partition, then you might want to study some of that before reading this book since all the characters revolve around this one time in history and the affect the partition had in the lives of those characters. I love Ghosh's writing, and have ordered several of his other books to enjoy as well.

The character and language is good, but it’s very hard to get a hold of the plot. I read it three times and still some things were lost. It’s kind of the point, but also frustrating.

This is a wonderful piece of work. I was off to a slow start - but after the few pages I got so engrossed in the book, I couldn't put it down till I had finished it. Events from different eras, and happening in different parts of the world are beautifully woven into a coherent narrative. I was really impressed by this unique style of traversing space and time in a non-linear fashion. The main characters are well etched out.The book would be best appreciated by those who have spent time in India (and know of its unique lifestyle!) and have also had a taste of the western world. However, it is a wonderfully told story, and I would recommend it to one and all.

Subtle. Thrilling. Masterful. One of the best pieces of post-colonial fiction that I’ve ever come across, and also a most artful narrative

I have read several of Ghosh's books but this one was a disappointment. I tried several times to pick it up and continue but finally just let it go. It is the story of a Bengali family during the partition but the book wanders. There is alot of character development and some very interesting characters that you can visualize. I am not sure there was a plot. I am waiting for the third of the Ibis trilogy to be released and can recommend several other Ghosh books.