Amitav Ghosh-Aravind Adiga to clash again

Three years ago,Amitav Ghosh and Aravind Adiga — both forerunners for the 2008 Man Booker Prize — set the stage for lots of speculation and some drama with their respective novel,Sea of Poppies and The White Tiger. Adiga,then 33,went on to become the second youngest author to bag the prize.

This June,Ghosh and Adiga are poised for another round of literary clash. River of Smoke — the much-awaited sequel to Ghosh’s Sea of Poppies as well as the second volume of his ambitious the Ibis trilogy — is reaching bookstores across India on June 15. This historical epic opens in Mauritius,follows a colourful cast of characters (some old,some new) to the crowded harbours of 19th-century China,with the Opium Wars as a constant backdrop to their travels.

A fortnight after River of Smoke’s release,Adiga’s second novel Last Man in Tower will be available. The book is hailed as a “suspense-filled story of money and power,luxury and deprivation,peopled by brilliantly drawn,unforgettable characters”.

As expected,the publishers of River of Smoke and Last Man in Tower,Penguin and HarperCollins respectively,are ready to unleash a blitzkrieg of promotion and marketing campaigns soon. However,while Ghosh will be touring extensively in the coming months,Adiga is likely to stick to his reclusive ways.

EFS