The Calcutta Chromosome: A Novel of Fevers, Delirium & Discovery Paperback – January 23, 2001

I consider Amitav Ghosh one of the best storytellers in the world. I was surprised that this was so draggy and didn't seem to be moving along at all.I finally put it down it was so boring. The topic held great potential for a super medical suspense story. Hey it didn't deliver. The book was one of his earlier ones and I think if he were to write it now, after he experienced many years of honing his writing, it would probably be a better book.It is the first book I have read by him that I didn't love!! Every author deserves patience and understanding as he is growing as a writer.

The lead to this book is great, but about a third of the way in, the suspense is lost and the story gets sloppy. I love that the author played with time and tried to tell a story from varied perspectives, but he didn't tie things together coherently enough for that mechanism to work. I struggled to figure out what the point of it all was.The characters are talking heads; nobody's personality is distinguishable. It's impossible to care about anyone because all they do is explain things to each other. The unique perspectives are rendered unnecessary because everyone's perspective reads the same. Interesting bits from the beginning are dropped partway through and forgotten by the author completely. This should have been an essay or a fun, clean short story instead of a novel.

Horrible. So horrible that the entire class who was forced to read it voted that the professor should not use it again as a required assignment. Not just a college student thing, but it was so hard to get through and so boring that even having a class discussion on it, even with the professors guidance, proved a waste of time.

A couple of high quality concepts here, but unfortunately undone by some very heavy explanation-based prose. The Murugan/Morgan character seem to spend the entire time explaining the story, with the Antar character playing a backseat observer roll. Some nice touches of alternate historical fiction, but ultimately too easy to put down.

After such classics as "In an Antique Land" and "The Shadowlines," Ghosh's latest book is rather a let down, much like "Circle of Reason." In "The Calcutta Chromosome," the characters are not well developed at all, and they all seems so contradictory, especially Dr. Murugan, who carries much of the burden of this book. Part science, part science fiction, part mystery, the story becomes less compelling when doused heavily with the technobabble of science and computers (the latter is very unrealistic, even for a futuristic fantasy.) Simply put, it detracts from a potentially interesting story. Even the concept of the Chromosome and it's omnipotent possiblities is not developed enough to make the title a compelling one.

Was recommended this book by my wife, who was recommended it by a friend. As someone who lived in Calcutta, I found lots of the imagery very evocative and nostalgic. But its not your typical book about Calcutta. Its Isaac Asimov meets Stephen King meets Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay, and goes back and forth between New York City in the future and Calcutta in 1970-1980, and weaves a very interesting tale around the disease Malaria. Its fast-paced and an interesting read.

I first became acquainted with the work of Amitav Ghosh when I read In an Antique Land: History in the Guise of a Traveler's Tale more than two decades ago. Among other impressive elements of that work is the non-Eurocentric view of world history, with a particular focus on the connections between India and what we still call the Middle East. I’ve also read Amitav Ghosh - A Critical Companion: With a New Essay on Satyagit Ray), and was less impressed with the essays of literary criticism. “The Calcutta Chromosome” pushed some personal “hot buttons” since it involved the discovery of the vector which transmitted malaria to human: the anopheles mosquito. Sir Ronald Ross has been given credit for the discovery. He did his primary work in a hospital in Calcutta, and won the Nobel Prize in 1902. I’ve had more than a passing acquaintance with malaria, and those that contract it, though fortunately one of those people was not myself.I am a big fan of Thomas Pynchon, having read all his earlier works, including Gravity's Rainbow (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition) and V. (Perennial Classics) twice. Ghosh novel strongly reminded me of Pynchon’s work. It commences in NYC, with Antar, who has long-left his Egyptian village in the Delta. Via Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow, he is now working with “Ava,” which appears to be “Watson” 20 years before its time – an intelligent computer program that answers all one’s questions with access to a massive database. Antar accidentally accesses bits and pieces of an old ID from an employee from an international public health agency, “LifeWatch.” “Ava” is able to determine that the ID belongs to a former employee, Murugan, who mysteriously disappeared in Calcutta, while he is investigating the true circumstances surrounding Ross’ discovery.With that as the set-up, the reader is off on a “magical mystery tour” that spans a century, different continents and vastly different perspectives. As with Pynchon’s work, and his secret societies that keep the mail going, simply to be doing so, in Ghosh’s work there are secret groupings of people engaged in arcane rituals. At the core of the novel is the question: did others “manipulate” Ross into making his discovery? Are the “servants” really the ones that are in charge? Murugan is determined to find out. Along the way, he makes the acquaintance of Indian women, one of whom is a movie star, and the other is a writer for the “Calcutta” magazine. I also learned some surprising things about malaria – for example, it was one of the treatments of choice for syphilis, before the discovery of penicillin during World War II.A string of improbable coincidences, or is there the “hidden hand” directing these coincidences? Great minds have pondered that question, in matters ranging widely from economics to those of the human heart. Ghosh has Murugan running down the same path, flitting with the supernatural along the way. Or is it a question of delirium, as the subtitle suggests?As with his previous novel, I enjoy slipping into Ghosh’s different world perspective. I felt the novel was well-written, with alternating chapters converging on that ever-so-elusive goal of finding the “string puller.” Nonetheless, I do not believe that Ghosh “did” Pynchon as well as the master himself. Thus, 4-stars.

This appears to be a fascinating, well written story but unfortunately the typography in this edition is poorly executed halftone. You can see the tiny dots for each letter. The result is that each printed letter indistinct, gray, and fuzzy. This blurriness makes it difficult to read. If I try to read for more than a few minutes, it makes me dizzy. It is a pity since Amitav Ghosh is such a superb writer.

'The Calcutta Chromosome' is a complex science fiction novel that is quite difficult to follow. A futuristic worker finds a scrap of an old ID badge and realises it belonged to a former colleague, who disappeared. The colleague had been investigating the history of a Victorian malaria researcher, whose work on mosquitoes in Calcutta proved how the disease was transmitted via protozoa. He had become obsessed with the idea that the research was guided by shadowy figures from a cult, with sinister motives relating to immortality.It's a complicated idea and I found the characters hard to warm to, which didn't help with my engagement with the story. The writing quality is good in terms of words on a page, but I found it too much hard work to really find it a pleasurable read. It was convoluted and not very believable, both of which could have been forgiven if I'd really felt emotionally engaged with the characters.It is clever and probably quite original (I don't read enough of the genre to be certain), so will likely appeal to the science fiction fan. For the more casual reader of the genre, it was a bit too much work.

It is odd until you get the feel of the three level construction. The characterisation is good. Somehow the conclusion is satisfying and understandable without it being explained.

A story engrained in dirt and disease which felt like a feverish nightmare Better towards the end but I may need to re-read

Its fine

Interesting, exciting

Brilliant writer

This author is really worth reading. Hi written English is a pleasure to read and you instantly become part of the story

What makes this book so great is the headiest mixture of lightly worn scientific research & humanity. I found the book irresistible. I discovered Amitav Ghosh in the autumn of 2012. What a find!

I stumbled upon Amitav Ghosh and started with The Glass Palace followed by the The Hungry Tide, both of which were stunningly good; then I read In an Antique Land which I had to drag myself to finish, looked more like a history book....next was The Calcutta Chromosome....I love medical history but found this book to be neither a historical account or a fiction...where it lies between is open to question, what it tries to convey is also perplexing....authors are also human and one cannot expect one author to write all masterpieces....The Shadow Lines provides excellent reading molded perhaps in the same quality as his more famous ones...without doubt his English is impeccable, but then perhaps Indian excel in English with a 400 year British Presence in India!!

This is the shortest book by Ghosh that I have read, I think. The book is a short, fast-paced thriller uncovering the pathology of the malaria disease. Ghosh has attempted to skilfully conjoin science with thriller and tried to tell the story by traveling back and forth across different time periods. Like all his other books, Ghosh has bejewelled the story by his exquisite characters. Each and every character has been chalked out to lend in the building up of the climax of the mystery that’s waiting to be discovered about a disease. The author has used religion, myths, mysticism and married them with the scientific pursuit of a disease. Even though there is a lot of good things that can be said about the writing, build-up, and style and the novelist’s uncharted attempt; I was taken aback with the way the story panned out eventually. Throughout the novel, the pacy, coruscating dialogues prepare the readers for something that will disturb the long-standing notions of the disease we know. However, the climax fails and obliterates the brilliant and suspenseful construction of the novel. Sadly, the turn out of the events leaves a bad taste. The novel resonates with catastrophe unfolding today as the world struggles to contain a disease and find its cause and prevention. As the important plots of the story unfurls in Calcutta, the descriptions made me nostalgic. I miss going about in my city. I miss traveling in my city a lot. The beautifully captured description did make me feel like I was on the streets of Calcutta running to and fro. However, what dawned on me while reading was that the city wouldn’t remain the same anymore. All my excitement to get back to those lanes, streets and shops waned when I thought how the pandemic has changed the world holistically and that every step we would take outside our homes would be drenched with fear.

Amitav Ghosh I guess is one of the best Indian Writer to come across in the past 3 decades. His accomplishment in the Indian and world literature is admired by everyone. Calcutta Chromosome it’s a book of its own kind with thrills and mysteries that will take the reader to a different level. One of the best book I have come across in the recent times. You won’t be able to keep the book a side, that’s speak for itself. A must read.

The Calcutta Chromosome is one of the finest novels in our times. this book was originally published in the year 1995 . The author has created a story which is an amalgamation of science ,fiction and thriller . The story is gripping and intriguing . One would not stop reading it until he/she finishes it off . Though I believe the climax could have been better , the entire story has been fabulously woven .

Yes, Unlike any other work of Ghosh, this is unique and has its own style. But the book is hell a lot of Complex Friends. The characters keep on getting added till 3/4th part of the book. and some chapters, you probably need to read twice. But I would totally recommend reading for the unique style of the book.

This is my first AG book.....he has great style and an eye to details .....Really I feel something terrible happened to him that forced this abrupt endMany time towards the end I felt the novel dragged unnecessarilyOverall it is an enjoyable piece of fiction but lot could have been improved

The book is promising from the beginning..but gradually loses charm towards the end.Cliches keep cropping up...and sort of predictable.However Ghosh is different here..rather than his other novels like the Ibis trilogy..he has an objective here..and the story has a general direction.Worth buying..and also the cover design is amazing!