The shadow lines

The Shadow Lines by Amitav Ghosh explores the political and economic growth of India through the lives of two families—one Bengali and one English—as their lives intertwine on multiple levels through three generations. The novel consists of the memories of the characters in the two families. Opening in 1960s Calcutta, the unnamed 8-year-old narrator examines the complex interrelationships of the protagonist of the novel, Tridib—the narrator’s cousin—and other members of the two families.