The Hungry Tide: A Novel Kindle Edition

It's a curiously interesting story written with beautiful language. I really had no clue where it was going but enjoyed the journey. I laughed and would have cried were I able. I'm sad it's over.

I had sometimes a little bit of a problem with the names since sometimes last and other times first names were used, but that is just me. I have always sort of been bad with names. However, the story deals with the communities in the Sundarbans, a large delta region in southern India. A young woman scientist from England but of Indian parentage wants to study a special species of dolphins. One learns about the different people living in that area and what they have to deal with. The scientist uses the help of a fisherman who does not speak English but knows a lot about the sea life and its movements and they manage to understand each other. She does not speak any of the Indian languages. The end is quite dramatic. I have never read it in such gripping detail, but I do not want to spoil what happens. Just read the book.

It was an excellent read! I enjoyed this book thoughrouly ! I had never been in Sundarbons but the detailed description of every part of this place made me to think of visiting this area of West Bengal. I admire the knowledge and the depth of research of this author tremendously. I have read his another book The Glass Palace which is also a book that I would recommend to my friends. I would definitely read more of his books in the near future.

This is the fourth novel that I have read by Amitav Ghosh and I remain astounded by his intelligence and his mastery of language. This book takes place in a part of India that I had previously known nothing about. The descriptions of the tidal environment, its history, and its inhabitants, both human and animal, are simply stunning. I live on the water and see dolphins every day. I never knew river dolphins existed before reading this book. Each time I read one of Amitav Ghosh' books, I learn not just one thing, but many things. I highly recommend Hungry Tide to anyone with an adventuresome spirit, a love of animals and an appreciation of beautiful writing.

The Hungry Tide was selected for our book club of twelve 60ish guys. The book was interesting and well-researched and written. It also opened the door to some deeper thoughts about the lead characters and their life choices. My only issue is that the copy of the book I read was not the one that I ordered via Amazon. That one took over 4 weeks to arrive, forcing me to borrow a copy from a colleague to get it read by our meeting. So my review is mixed. Good marks for the book. Unacceptable for the delivery. So, if timing is any kind of issue, look elsewhere.

Amitav Ghosh is a very engaging author and The Hungry Tide is a good introduction to his talent. Set in the Sundarbans, a tideland area created by the outflow of several rivers and home to multiple exotic animals (including the Bengal Tiger), the setting is as rich as the characters he writes about. A rich and rewarding read.

Perhaps if I had read this book ten years ago, or forty years hence, I would probably have a much nicer opinion. This book was recommended to me while I was journeying through the Sunderbans (the environment that this book is set in). At the time, we were on the water for 12-16 hours, so I would have had the time to read something as taxing as this. But unfortunately now I am in the place where I must be "less forgiving of trespass on my time", and I found that a book without a plot 60% of the way in is not something I have the privilege to enjoy.This entire work was an example of indulgence. The prose is so rich that it precipitates a cognitive indigestion. There's a lot of research that has gone into writing this book, but my question is also, why? What is the point of this book supposed to be, because there are so many extraneous tangents and anecdotes that it is hard to focus on what's going on. Kind of your classic garrulous Bengali uncle.The structuring of the characters reeks of the Bengali indulgence in intellectual posturing and masturbation rather than any meaningful execution. The two women who are actual go-getters are derided by their own spouses, judged by their menfolk to be lesser and yet entire chapters are devoted to the ramblings of a has-been retired professor who didn't even have the mental temperament to stand for his own ideals.There's another indulgence by the editor. Entire chapters delve Melville-esque into habits of river dolphins, marine navigation, geological formations and local folklore. And this isn't the worst of it, but it really slows the pacing down. These parts actually form the most atmospheric and pleasant parts of reading this book. If anything, I would gladly read a non-fiction book written with the same degree of storytelling effort.The characters, good lord. Insufferable. The style of storytelling definitely didn't help either. If all the exposition and adjectives and adverbs are being spoonfed to me then how am I supposed to make my own inferences about the characters? What kind of author would force their readers to accept characters as stereotypical cardboard cutouts dangled as marionettes? What kind of editor would let so many rhetorical questions slide? Not I, that's for sure.All in all, the pacing is bad but the researched bits are amazing. The characters are mostly annoying and their arcs are not fun to follow because there's no stakes to the plot.

I don't know where to begin. A real story, inferences of love but so much more than that.It takes place in unlikely islands in India, mixing research on river dolphins, a little bit of revolutions, gods, modernity and old times. Science, practicality vs dreamers. Or do they compliment one another?I want to thank the author for this indescribably wonderful book.I don't want to tell more than that, the book is a journey. Go on it. You won't be sorry.