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Ghost-Eye
Not yet published
Expected 2 Jun 26Past and present collide in a novel about a girl who might just be a "case of the reincarnation type."
Varsha Gupta wants fish for lunch. Her family is shocked; the three-year-old has never tasted fish in her life. The Guptas are strict vegetarians and don’t allow it inside their Calcutta mansion. But Varsha claims she can remember another life, in a mud house by a river where she caught and cooked fish with a different mother.
Perplexed, the Guptas turn to Dr. Shoma Bose, a psychologist who has been investigating what are known as "cases of the reincarnation type" for years. But her understanding of the world is changed forever by Varsha's revelations.
Half a century later, Varsha's case file catches the attention of a group of environmental activists, and Shoma's nephew Dinu is drawn inexorably into their plans. As Dinu finds himself caught up in the search for Varsha, buried memories of his own past begin to surface.
Traveling between late 1960s Calcutta and present-day Brooklyn, Amitav Ghosh's Ghost-Eye is an urgent and expansive novel from one of our greatest living storytellers, about family, fate, and our fragile planet.
Varsha Gupta wants fish for lunch. Her family is shocked; the three-year-old has never tasted fish in her life. The Guptas are strict vegetarians and don’t allow it inside their Calcutta mansion. But Varsha claims she can remember another life, in a mud house by a river where she caught and cooked fish with a different mother.
Perplexed, the Guptas turn to Dr. Shoma Bose, a psychologist who has been investigating what are known as "cases of the reincarnation type" for years. But her understanding of the world is changed forever by Varsha's revelations.
Half a century later, Varsha's case file catches the attention of a group of environmental activists, and Shoma's nephew Dinu is drawn inexorably into their plans. As Dinu finds himself caught up in the search for Varsha, buried memories of his own past begin to surface.
Traveling between late 1960s Calcutta and present-day Brooklyn, Amitav Ghosh's Ghost-Eye is an urgent and expansive novel from one of our greatest living storytellers, about family, fate, and our fragile planet.
- GenresLiterary Fiction
Kindle Edition
Expected publication June 16, 2026
10 people are currently reading
179 people want to read
About the author
Amitav Ghosh
55 books4,163 followersAmitav Ghosh is an Indian writer. He won the 54th Jnanpith award in 2018, India's highest literary honour. Ghosh's ambitious novels use complex narrative strategies to probe the nature of national and personal identity, particularly of the people of India and South Asia. He has written historical fiction and non-fiction works discussing topics such as colonialism and climate change.
Ghosh studied at The Doon School, Dehradun, and earned a doctorate in social anthropology at the University of Oxford. He worked at the Indian Express newspaper in New Delhi and several academic institutions. His first novel, The Circle of Reason, was published in 1986, which he followed with later fictional works, including The Shadow Lines and The Glass Palace. Between 2004 and 2015, he worked on the Ibis trilogy, which revolves around the build-up and implications of the First Opium War. His non-fiction work includes In an Antique Land (1992) and The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable (2016).
Ghosh holds two Lifetime Achievement awards and four honorary doctorates. In 2007, he was awarded the Padma Shri, one of India's highest honours, by the President of India. In 2010, he was a joint winner, along with Margaret Atwood, of a Dan David prize, and in 2011, he was awarded the Grand Prix of the Blue Metropolis festival in Montreal. He was the first English-language writer to receive the award. In 2019, Foreign Policy magazine named him one of the most important global thinkers of the preceding decade.
Ghosh studied at The Doon School, Dehradun, and earned a doctorate in social anthropology at the University of Oxford. He worked at the Indian Express newspaper in New Delhi and several academic institutions. His first novel, The Circle of Reason, was published in 1986, which he followed with later fictional works, including The Shadow Lines and The Glass Palace. Between 2004 and 2015, he worked on the Ibis trilogy, which revolves around the build-up and implications of the First Opium War. His non-fiction work includes In an Antique Land (1992) and The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable (2016).
Ghosh holds two Lifetime Achievement awards and four honorary doctorates. In 2007, he was awarded the Padma Shri, one of India's highest honours, by the President of India. In 2010, he was a joint winner, along with Margaret Atwood, of a Dan David prize, and in 2011, he was awarded the Grand Prix of the Blue Metropolis festival in Montreal. He was the first English-language writer to receive the award. In 2019, Foreign Policy magazine named him one of the most important global thinkers of the preceding decade.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Since magical realism is the few genres of fiction I enjoy, I was pretty excited to read this book, and am so glad I did! This is by no means Ghosh's best work, and is in fact very attached to some of his older books and themes, but it is a page turner.
What I love about his current writing is the overlap of climate change with poetry, beauty and magic, and I really really loved the process of the protagonist recreating a childhood Bengali dish in Brooklyn. I always read fiction to get back into reading, and Ghosh's writing is so smooth that I was up all Friday night with a book!!
What I love about his current writing is the overlap of climate change with poetry, beauty and magic, and I really really loved the process of the protagonist recreating a childhood Bengali dish in Brooklyn. I always read fiction to get back into reading, and Ghosh's writing is so smooth that I was up all Friday night with a book!!
Review of advance copy
The book was such a whirlwind for me that I completed it within 2 days.
The story of Varsha and Dinu and how reincarnation plays a part in their lives is brought about in such a intricate matter over decades fascinated me.
Flipping through the initial chapters, one could believe that they were transported to Calcutta post independence, and had taken a ferry to Sundarbans.
The latter half of the book speaks about the current environment issues surrounding us and how we can live harmoniously with them if we respect them.
Reincarnation is not just rebirth but how different and vast it can be from what we know educated me and made we wonder that do we even know how our mind, senses work.
Overall this book made me feel if two people are destined to be together, they will find their way to each other by crossing desserts and swimming through tides.
The story of Varsha and Dinu and how reincarnation plays a part in their lives is brought about in such a intricate matter over decades fascinated me.
Flipping through the initial chapters, one could believe that they were transported to Calcutta post independence, and had taken a ferry to Sundarbans.
The latter half of the book speaks about the current environment issues surrounding us and how we can live harmoniously with them if we respect them.
Reincarnation is not just rebirth but how different and vast it can be from what we know educated me and made we wonder that do we even know how our mind, senses work.
Overall this book made me feel if two people are destined to be together, they will find their way to each other by crossing desserts and swimming through tides.
December 20, 2025
I was very surprised when this book showed up on my Amazon suggestions.
I love Amitav Ghosh's work , and was very excited to read this one and boy this did not disappoint!
I loved the premise , the characters, the story line and especially the big twist in the end. I didnot expect that coming.
I am glad this book showed up on my Amazon.I quite enjoyed reading this.
ps: i loved the cover of the book as well
I love Amitav Ghosh's work , and was very excited to read this one and boy this did not disappoint!
I loved the premise , the characters, the story line and especially the big twist in the end. I didnot expect that coming.
I am glad this book showed up on my Amazon.I quite enjoyed reading this.
ps: i loved the cover of the book as well
Review of advance copy
Amitav Ghosh presents a major thesis: the marginalised are under threat due to the exploitative nature of corporations and environmental destruction. The current forms of protest are ineffective against the state and corporations. To save the world, we must remember the old ways. Ghosh envisions using the irruption (you have to read the novel to know what this is about) of people with special abilities, those with ghost-eyes who can see between realms of the real and the invisible, to achieve this feat.
A complex tale overall, with delicate descriptions of landscapes of Sundabans, Calcutta, Brooklyn, and the fish dishes. The moment I finished reading, I wanted to prepare fish curry and think about this novel while I was cooking and eating.
A complex tale overall, with delicate descriptions of landscapes of Sundabans, Calcutta, Brooklyn, and the fish dishes. The moment I finished reading, I wanted to prepare fish curry and think about this novel while I was cooking and eating.
December 27, 2025
What a fantastic book to complete 2025 with! This is the Amitav Ghosh from his Hungry Tide and Calcutta Chromosome days. Ghost Eye has Ghosh bring up a wide range of issues from climate emergencies to dystopic futurities but there is an unmistakable writing style that holds it all from within. I haven't read so breathlessly in a long time; so thankful to end the year with this one.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
The author’s endings are getting a little too predictable and a little too monotonous. What started off encouragingly well diminished into an extended damp squib
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews