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The Shadow Lines
Public book overview with generated synopsis from the full running summary.
By Amitav Ghosh
3 chapters2011en
Summary•EnglishSynopsis
Quick synopsis of the book's plot, generated by our AI models.
The narrator traces his family's tangled history, beginning with his aunt Mayadebi's 1939 voyage to England with her husband and son Tridib, whose eccentric visits, academic pursuits, and unsettling “gastric” episodes linger over their Calcutta home. As the family relocates to London, the narrator reconnects with May, now Mrs Price’s daughter, attends a Dvořák concerto, and rediscovers old friends Ila and Nick, while the old family house in Raibajar and his grandmother’s declining health frame a series of revelations about Ila’s turbulent past and long‑standing betrayals. After his grandmother retires as headmistress, receives a lavish farewell, and later succumbs to a mysterious illness marked by a turban‑clad stranger, the family moves to a spacious Southern Avenue residence where her recounting of the partition‑era split of the Dhaka house and Jethamoshai’s tyranny deepens the generational conflict. A scandal erupts when May‑Price receives a pornographic letter from the presumed‑dead Tridib, prompting a fraught journey to Dhaka with Mayadebi, Minadi, Mrinmoyee and Saifuddin to rescue her ailing uncle and confront the bitter Ukil‑babu, whose past further complicates the family’s loyalties. The narrator finally learns that Tridib was killed in the 1964 Khulna riots, confronts May in London about that night’s mob attack, and they reach a tentative reconciliation, closing the novel’s sweep across continents and generations.
Bibliographic Details
Details from the uploaded book file.
Primary Author
Amitav Ghosh
Source Title
The Shadow Lines
Publisher
John Murray
Language
en
Summary Language
English
Published Date
2011-01-06
Published Year
2011
Rights
Not available
Contributors
Amitav Ghosh (Author)
Identifiers
No identifiers provided.
Description
No bibliographic description provided.
Chapter Summary Pages
Chapter 2: Chapter 2
Chapter 3: Chapter 3
Characters
Character directory for this processed book.
Grandmotherfemale
The narrator's strict school‑mistress grandmother disapproves of Tridib, enforces discipline, and later becomes ill and dies.
Ilafemale
Ila is the narrator's cousin‑friend, a former UN diplomat’s daughter, whose turbulent school past and later work for Save‑the‑Children shape her relationship with the narrator and Nick.
Jatin‑kakumale
Jatin‑kaku is Tridib’s elder brother, a UN economist living abroad.
May (Price)female
May is Mrs Price’s daughter, an oboe player who invited the narrator to a concert and later opened her London flat to him.
Mayadebifemale
Mayadebi is the narrator's great‑aunt who traveled to England in 1939 with her husband and son Tridib.
Mrs Pricefemale
Mrs Price is a London‑based widow, mother of May and Nick, who works for Amnesty/Oxfam and hosts the narrator in her flat.
Nick Pricemale
Nick is Mrs Price’s son, a charismatic but directionless youth who dreams of futures‑market success and has a fraught relationship with Ila.
Robimale
Robi is Tridib’s youngest brother, a strong‑willed youth who later attends Delhi college and briefly stays with the narrator.
Shahebmale
Shaheb is Mayadebi's husband, a diplomat styled as ‘His Excellency’, noted for his immaculate attire.
Tridibmale
Tridib is the narrator's cousin, known for his gastric problems, academic work in archaeology, and charismatic yet aloof presence in Calcutta streets.
Jethamoshaimale
Grandmother’s elder brother who ruled the Dhaka house with cruelty, leading to the family split.
Minadifemale
An elderly woman the grandmother meets in the park who informs her about the uncle in Dhaka.
Montumale
The narrator’s best friend, actually named Mansoor, nicknamed Montu, discovers a turban‑clad man in the grandmother’s room.
Mrinmoyeefemale
The driver/maid who takes the family to the cramped building in Dhaka.
Saifuddinmale
A mechanic who runs a workshop in the old Dhaka courtyard and helps with the uncle’s affairs.
Literary Analysis Pages
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