The Circle of Reason

Amitav Ghosh s extraordinary first novel makes a claim on literary turf held by Gabriel Garcia Marquez 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. A remarkable storyteller, a Scheherezade effortlessly spinning tales within tales, the possessor of a strong narrative voice quite like no other. Newsday Ghosh s writing soars, producing electric images. Baltimore Sun"