
The Circle of Reason
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Narrated by:
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Simon Vance
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By:
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Amitav Ghosh
About this listen
Amitav Ghosh’s extraordinary first novel makes a claim on literary turf held by Gabriel García Márquez and Salman Rushdie. In a vivid and magical story, The Circle of Reason traces the misadventures of Alu, a young master weaver in a small Bengali village who is falsely accused of terrorism. Alu flees his home, traveling through Bombay to the Persian Gulf to North Africa with a bird-watching policeman in pursuit.
©2011 Brilliance Audio, Inc.; 1986 Amitav GhoshListeners also enjoyed...
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I struggled to finish... enough said.
- By Ty on 05-02-10
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A powerful work of history, essay, testimony, and polemic, The Nutmeg’s Curse argues that the dynamics of climate change today are rooted in a centuries-old geopolitical order constructed by Western colonialism. At the center of Ghosh’s narrative is the now-ubiquitous spice nutmeg. The history of the nutmeg is one of conquest and exploitation—of both human life and the natural environment. In Ghosh’s hands, the story of the nutmeg becomes a parable for our environmental crisis.
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performance....
- By Bonnie on 11-15-22
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Amitav Ghosh’s Gun Island is a beautifully realized novel that effortlessly spans space and time. It is the story of a world on the brink, of increasing displacement and unstoppable transition. But it is also a story of hope, of a man whose faith in the world and the future is restored by two remarkable women.
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Loved the story and the narrator
- By Frances on 10-10-19
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Once upon a time an Indian writer name Amitav Ghosh set out to find an Indian slave, name unknown, who some 700 years before had traveled to the Middle East. The journey took him to a small village in Egypt, where medieval customs coexist with 20th-century desires and discontents. But even as Ghosh sought to re-create the life of his Indian predecessor, he found himself immersed in those of his modern Egyptian neighbors.
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Are we deranged? The acclaimed Indian novelist Amitav Ghosh argues that future generations may well think so. How else to explain our imaginative failure in the face of global warming? In his first major book of nonfiction since In an Antique Land, Ghosh examines our inability - at the level of literature, history, and politics - to grasp the scale and violence of climate change.
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Deranged
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Performance
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Story
Opening in Calcutta in the 1960s, Ghosh’s radiant second novel follows two families - one English, one Bengali - as their lives intertwine in tragic and comic ways. The narrator, Indian-born and English educated, traces events back and forth in time, through years of Bengali partition and violence, observing the ways in which political events invade private lives.
-
-
Narrator Doesn't Know How to Pronounce
- By Amazon Customer on 08-27-11
By: Amitav Ghosh
-
The Glass Palace
- By: Amitav Ghosh
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 17 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Set in Burma during the British invasion of 1885, this masterly novel by Amitav Ghosh tells the story of Rajkumar, a poor boy lifted on the tides of political and social chaos, who goes on to create an empire in the Burmese teak forest. When soldiers force the royal family out of the Glass Palace and into exile, Rajkumar befriends Dolly, a young woman in the court of the Burmese Queen, whose love will shape his life. He cannot forget her, and years later, as a rich man, he goes in search of her.
-
-
I struggled to finish... enough said.
- By Ty on 05-02-10
By: Amitav Ghosh
-
The Nutmeg's Curse
- Parables for a Planet in Crisis
- By: Amitav Ghosh
- Narrated by: Sam Dastor
- Length: 10 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A powerful work of history, essay, testimony, and polemic, The Nutmeg’s Curse argues that the dynamics of climate change today are rooted in a centuries-old geopolitical order constructed by Western colonialism. At the center of Ghosh’s narrative is the now-ubiquitous spice nutmeg. The history of the nutmeg is one of conquest and exploitation—of both human life and the natural environment. In Ghosh’s hands, the story of the nutmeg becomes a parable for our environmental crisis.
-
-
performance....
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By: Amitav Ghosh
-
Gun Island
- A Novel
- By: Amitav Ghosh
- Narrated by: Sagar Arya
- Length: 10 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Amitav Ghosh’s Gun Island is a beautifully realized novel that effortlessly spans space and time. It is the story of a world on the brink, of increasing displacement and unstoppable transition. But it is also a story of hope, of a man whose faith in the world and the future is restored by two remarkable women.
-
-
Loved the story and the narrator
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By: Amitav Ghosh
-
In an Antique Land
- History in the Guise of a Traveler's Tale
- By: Amitav Ghosh
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 9 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Once upon a time an Indian writer name Amitav Ghosh set out to find an Indian slave, name unknown, who some 700 years before had traveled to the Middle East. The journey took him to a small village in Egypt, where medieval customs coexist with 20th-century desires and discontents. But even as Ghosh sought to re-create the life of his Indian predecessor, he found himself immersed in those of his modern Egyptian neighbors.
-
-
Mixed Worlds
- By Roger on 10-26-10
By: Amitav Ghosh
-
The Great Derangement
- Climate Change and the Unthinkable
- By: Amitav Ghosh
- Narrated by: Shridhar Solanki
- Length: 6 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Are we deranged? The acclaimed Indian novelist Amitav Ghosh argues that future generations may well think so. How else to explain our imaginative failure in the face of global warming? In his first major book of nonfiction since In an Antique Land, Ghosh examines our inability - at the level of literature, history, and politics - to grasp the scale and violence of climate change.
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Critic reviews
What listeners say about The Circle of Reason
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
- Peggy
- 12-29-13
Circles within circles
Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?
Although Amitav Ghosh is one of my favorite writers, I found this book confusing and not very interesting. Too many people moving around without compelling purpose.
What three words best describe Simon Vance’s voice?
Excellent as usual.
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
- Gwen Urey
- 03-04-13
Ghosh, I was disappointed
Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?
only to an avid Ghosh fan.
What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)
It seemed contrived.
Have you listened to any of Simon Vance’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
Yes I have and he is consistently good, especially in a book with many characters.
Do you think The Circle of Reason needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?
please no more on this story line.
Any additional comments?
Compared to Sea of Poppies, River of Smoke, Glass Palace, Hungry Tide, Circle of Reason had a less steady hand on the plot. The characters were thinner and less compelling: I gladly said goodbye to them at the end. In contrast, I have grieved for my own loss at the sound of "audible hopes you have enjoyed this content" (or turned the last page, in some cases) for all the other Ghosh titles.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
- Miguette Sansegundo
- 01-30-17
Ok
I didn't enjoy it as much as I enjoyed The Glass Palace. It is a bit aimless but enjoyable
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
- Kindle Customer
- 07-22-22
beautifully narrated,
The story is rife with intriguing characters and complex situations. It's difficult to follow at times. Narration is music to the ears so I didn't mind getting lost
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
- Uncertain
- 06-29-17
What was this about
Authors trilogy was quite good. However this book seems to have no purpose or direction. The descriptions seem very interesting but they go no where. I like the unusual names but because there are so many central characters there is no way to know who is who
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