'The Living Mountain' is a very short book - you can't even call it a novella - by acclaimed writer Amitav Ghosh. I'm a fan of Ghosh's novels and was keen to read this, without realising quite how short it is. Ghosh has previously used themes of environmental degradation and the gulf between rich and poor in some of his other novels, particularly 'Gun Island'. In 'The Living Mountain' he tells a simple fable-like story of a sacred mountain that is exploited by greedy foreigners. The local people forget to worship their mountain and assist in its destruction, and are the first to suffer the consequences.
I found the target audience a puzzle - is it intended as a children's book? It's not advertised as one, and I'm not sure it would be suitable. But there is a simplicity, an obviousness about it that would normally be found in books aimed at younger readers. There are also pictures, simple line drawings. As metaphors go, it's not subtle, and it doesn't really tell us anything we don't know. The strongest elements lay in its allegorical exploration of the inequitable way economically rich and poor nations are treated when it comes to climate change. That was well done, although it didn't tell me anything new.
Usually with a morality tale like this you want it to cast new light on an issue, to show the thing it is satirising in a new way. I can't honestly say this book does that. It doesn't tell me anything I don't know or what me think about what I do know any differently. I'm not sure what the 'point' is meant to be. It may be that I'm not the right target reader for the book, but I also can't see who would be in order to make recommendations.
If you have reading time, I'd suggest skipping this and trying one of Ghosh's novels instead, you'll get a much longer and more enlightening read that way.
Genre: Fantasy
I found the target audience a puzzle - is it intended as a children's book? It's not advertised as one, and I'm not sure it would be suitable. But there is a simplicity, an obviousness about it that would normally be found in books aimed at younger readers. There are also pictures, simple line drawings. As metaphors go, it's not subtle, and it doesn't really tell us anything we don't know. The strongest elements lay in its allegorical exploration of the inequitable way economically rich and poor nations are treated when it comes to climate change. That was well done, although it didn't tell me anything new.
Usually with a morality tale like this you want it to cast new light on an issue, to show the thing it is satirising in a new way. I can't honestly say this book does that. It doesn't tell me anything I don't know or what me think about what I do know any differently. I'm not sure what the 'point' is meant to be. It may be that I'm not the right target reader for the book, but I also can't see who would be in order to make recommendations.
If you have reading time, I'd suggest skipping this and trying one of Ghosh's novels instead, you'll get a much longer and more enlightening read that way.
Genre: Fantasy
Used availability for Amitav Ghosh's The Living Mountain