The Calcutta Chromosome is a thrilling novel that is loosely based on the life of Sir Ronald Ross, who won the Nobel Prize for his discoveries on malaria.
Summary Of The Book
When L. Murugan requests to be transferred to Calcutta, he intends on studying the discoveries and the life of renowned scientist Sir Ronald Ross. However, the story takes an unexpected turn with the sudden disappearance of Murugan and a series of seemingly disconnected events.
Sir Ronald Ross had made a series of path-breaking discoveries on malaria, which had eventually caused him to receive the Nobel Prize. These discoveries were made in Calcutta in the year 1898. A character named Antar is introduced at the start of the novel and this person recounts his meeting with L. Murugan. The sudden disappearance of Murugan is explained to some extent and bears a distinct connection with the mysterious Calcutta Chromosome.
The Calcutta Chromosome is said to be an elixir that grants eternal life by the transference of chromosomes. The author also gives details about the discoveries made by Sir Ronald Ross but the timelines of all these events are disconnected to a great extent.
The striking aspect of this novel is the fact that the settings and timelines rarely overlap and this tends to complicate the plot. The novel has earned a great degree of fame for the author.
About Amitav Ghosh
The author of this book, Amitav Ghosh, is well-known for his contributions to English Literature.
Some of the books published by the author include In an Antique Land, The Glass Palace, and The Circle of Reason. The books written by the author have won him several awards, most notably the Prix Medicis etranger, which is one of the most highly esteemed awards for literature in France.
The author hails from Calcutta, India, and has completed his doctor of Philosophy degree from St Edmund Hall, Oxford. He was studying Social Anthropology. In the year 2007, he was given the Padma Shri award by the Government of India. He currently resides in New York along with his spouse and two children. Apart from being an author, the author has also held the position of a lecturer at Queens College, City University of New York, where he has taught comparative literature. Apart from that, he has also been teaching literature at Harvard University, from time to time.