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7 swashbuckling pirate books 26/03/24
City of Ghosts
Publisher: Corgi
Based around the British massacre of Indians at Amritsar in 1919, Rai’s seventh novel for young adults moves seamlessly through time, place, belief and genre.
Overtly historical, it also encompasses a degree of Indian folktale, a ghostly guardian angel watching over one of the teenage protagonists.
Rai shows a multicultural society whose history is inextricably linked with the UK, and considers problems which are equally relevant today: relationships, racism, loyalty and duty. Two love stories emerge from the political intricacies, each imperilled by cultural division.
The strength of Rai’s text lies in its versatility, as it can be read as enjoyably for its historical content, cultural insights or its supernatural interventions. Unusual and sometimes disturbing, this is a skilful and absorbing novel.
What you thought...
Average rating:
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Nidhi, 15 January 2014
I liked how the author used Punjabi words and phrases and how he presented history into a story that people would understand better and to tell what happened during that period of that time, as in this case the Revolution of when the British had owned England in a short period of time. This book is about the Revolution and how the British took over India. This story was re- created into a story of romance and mystery. I would recommend this book to teenagers and to the readers who like his...