The Light at the End of the World, Siddhartha Deb
The Light at the End of the World, Siddhartha Deb
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The Light at the End of the World

Author: Siddhartha Deb

Narrator: Neil Shah, Sneha Mathan

Unabridged: 17 hr 39 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Recorded Books

Published: 05/30/2023


Synopsis

Delhi, the near future: Bibi, a low-ranking employee of a global consulting firm, is tasked with finding a man long thought to be dead but who now appears to be the source of a vast collection of documents. The trove purports to reveal the secrets of the Indian government, including
detention centers, mutated creatures, engineered viruses, experimental weapons, and alien wrecks discovered in remote mountain areas.

Bhopal, 1984: an assassin tracks his prey through an Indian city that will shortly be the site of the worst industrial disaster in the history of the world.

Calcutta, 1947: a veterinary student’s life and work connect him to an ancient Vedic aircraft that might stave off genocide.

And in 1859, a British soldier rides with his detachment to the Himalayas in search of the last surviving leader of an anti-colonial rebellion.

These timelines interweave to form a kaleidoscopic, epic novel in which each protagonist must come to terms with the buried truths of their times as well as with the parallel universe that connects them all, through automatons, spirits, spacecraft, and aliens. The Light at the End of the
World, Siddhartha Deb’s first novel in fifteen years, is a magisterial work of shifting forms, expanding the possibilities of fiction while bringing to life the India of our times.

About Siddhartha Deb

Born in Shillong, India, Siddhartha Deb lives in Harlem, New York. His fiction and nonfiction have been longlisted for the International Dublin Literary Award, shortlisted for the Orwell Prize, and been awarded the Pen Open Prize. His journalism and essays have appeared in the New York Times, Guardian, New Republic, Baffler, n+1, Dissent, and Caravan.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Hannah on July 07, 2023

This story tried too hard to be too many things. I couldn't keep up with the storyline, and I couldn't wait for it to be over.......more

Goodreads review by Kunal on October 21, 2023

Unveiling the New India's hysteria through the lanes of her past. Hypnotic. Surreal. Multi-layered. Haunting. Decieving. Nuanced. These are some adjectives I'd want to use for Siddharth Deb's recent fictional oeuvre 'The Light at the end of the world'. It might test patience of some readers making th......more

Goodreads review by Maggie on May 29, 2023

I was unfortunately not able to finish this book having gotten 3/4s of the way through, but I am giving it so much benefit of the doubt. I feel that if I had a better understanding of India's vast tapestry history and cultures, I would be better able to engage with this book. However, I found myself......more

Goodreads review by June on July 25, 2024

Begin with City of Brume, spin tales of earthly gloom; Claustropolis: 1984, Repetition is a bore; Paranoid: 1947 ("Sky-man in a man-hole with astronomy for dream, astrology for nightmare..." A.K. Ramanujan) less annoyed, felt I'd reached heaven; The Line of Faith: 1859 A shrine and a path to shine... ...at......more

Goodreads review by Jonna on February 17, 2024

I read this because the author has written for _Dissent_ and I'm interested in fiction that imagines possibilities beyond necrocapitalism, as well as immigrant perspectives. The story takes place in India. It's never quite clear what's happening, and that in itself seems to be an embodiment or demon......more