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sarah984's review
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
This is a multi-generational family saga about physicians in India. It covers medical advancements as well as social and political change from the late 19th century to mid 20th century. It's an interesting book but I feel about it a bit like I felt about "A Long Petal of the Sea": many of the characters’ personal stories didn't really interest me so I think I would rather have read a straightforward history book. It also does that weird thing that a lot of the books I've read lately have been doing where they have multiple viewpoint characters but only one is in first person for some reason. His voice was charming but I found it distracting.
Despite this, if you're interested in turn of the century medicine I would recommend this.
Despite this, if you're interested in turn of the century medicine I would recommend this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content
Moderate: Blood, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Dementia, Excrement, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Infidelity, Incest, Pregnancy, and Gore
Minor: Abortion, Cancer, Gun violence, and Religious bigotry
There is a brief description of necrophilia.sudeepta_booksteaandmore's review
4.0
A ballad of remittent fever can be best described as a juxtaposition of a family saga of the Ghosal family-centred around Kolkata and their relentless pursuit of medical science to improve the quality of human life. Set in the 19th and early 20th century the novel gives you a glimpse of Calcutta and the manner in which it was changing. While Kolkata was fast becoming a hub of migrants from other cities and towns it had also become captive to a host of diseases like Cholera, Kala Azar, malaria, plague, TB, Syphilis. Amidst such conditions, the superstitious beliefs of the population and their aversion to modern medical science like usage of vaccine was resulting in an atmosphere where charlatans thrived. The book also takes you on a historical journey where you see that India was becoming recalcitrant against the British rule, World war 1 was looming large and there is an outbreak of Spanish flu and later in the book we also get a glimpse of the Naxal movement.
With a non-linear narration we follow the lives of Dwarikanath, his son Kritindranath, grandson Punyendranath and great-grandson Dwijottamand all of whom have a sharp scientific temperament and yet are unique in their approach and goals. However, while the men of the Ghosal family contribute to the saga it is the female characters particularly Amodini (Dwarikanath’ s wife) and Madumadhabi who leave a deep imprint on you. Madumadhabi is the niece of Dwarikanath and is an Ayurvedic doctor who believes in imbibing the best of all branches of medical science to cure her patients. One realises through the novel that maybe Dwarikanath saw himself in her, the rebellious attitude, a curiosity like no other, the ability to capture the attention of masses and a relentless ambition to cure the people of the disease ravaged Kolkata. The discussions which Dwarikanath and Madhumadhabi have was the highlight of the book for me.
This book is a ballad of medical science and the pursuit of doctors and scientist to find a cure and save lives. In retrospect, it makes you realise how it was the unwavering efforts of the medical and scientific community in the past, who did not have as many resources then and yet persevered that today our quality of life has improved to this extent. One also realises how when are jubilant regarding success against a disease another one rises here it is the Spanish Flu hence how irrespective of success or failure the medical community needs to go on and be on tenterhooks all the time. This makes you cognizant of the present times where just when we thought everything is in control, we were all hit by a disease out of the blue which brought life to hold. The book makes you look at the past and appreciate the medical community who often with no support of the government, the constant need to dispel the superstitions of the masses and no resources continued their pursuit. If you love science or generally have an acumen for history this book will enthral you.
Originally written in Bengali as Abiram Jworer Roopkotha by Ashoke Mukhopadhyay in 2018 it has been brilliantly translated by Arunava Sinha. With most translation often you find something amiss and desire to read it in original, however, with this one I can vouch for that, I felt this was a novel written in English all along. I think that this is the power of Arunava Sinha as a writer as I had a similar feeling while I read Fever (Mahakaler rather Ghoda) by Samaresh Basu which has been translated by Arunava as well.
With a non-linear narration we follow the lives of Dwarikanath, his son Kritindranath, grandson Punyendranath and great-grandson Dwijottamand all of whom have a sharp scientific temperament and yet are unique in their approach and goals. However, while the men of the Ghosal family contribute to the saga it is the female characters particularly Amodini (Dwarikanath’ s wife) and Madumadhabi who leave a deep imprint on you. Madumadhabi is the niece of Dwarikanath and is an Ayurvedic doctor who believes in imbibing the best of all branches of medical science to cure her patients. One realises through the novel that maybe Dwarikanath saw himself in her, the rebellious attitude, a curiosity like no other, the ability to capture the attention of masses and a relentless ambition to cure the people of the disease ravaged Kolkata. The discussions which Dwarikanath and Madhumadhabi have was the highlight of the book for me.
This book is a ballad of medical science and the pursuit of doctors and scientist to find a cure and save lives. In retrospect, it makes you realise how it was the unwavering efforts of the medical and scientific community in the past, who did not have as many resources then and yet persevered that today our quality of life has improved to this extent. One also realises how when are jubilant regarding success against a disease another one rises here it is the Spanish Flu hence how irrespective of success or failure the medical community needs to go on and be on tenterhooks all the time. This makes you cognizant of the present times where just when we thought everything is in control, we were all hit by a disease out of the blue which brought life to hold. The book makes you look at the past and appreciate the medical community who often with no support of the government, the constant need to dispel the superstitions of the masses and no resources continued their pursuit. If you love science or generally have an acumen for history this book will enthral you.
Originally written in Bengali as Abiram Jworer Roopkotha by Ashoke Mukhopadhyay in 2018 it has been brilliantly translated by Arunava Sinha. With most translation often you find something amiss and desire to read it in original, however, with this one I can vouch for that, I felt this was a novel written in English all along. I think that this is the power of Arunava Sinha as a writer as I had a similar feeling while I read Fever (Mahakaler rather Ghoda) by Samaresh Basu which has been translated by Arunava as well.
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