Past and present collide in a novel about a girl who might just be a "case of the reincarnation type."

Varsha Gupta wants fish for lunch. Her family is shocked; the three-year-old has never tasted fish in her life. The Guptas are strict vegetarians and don't allow it inside their Calcutta mansion. But Varsha claims she can remember another life, in a mud house by a river where she caught and cooked fish with a different mother.

Perplexed, the Guptas turn to Dr. Shoma Bose, a psychologist who has been investigating what are known as "cases of the reincarnation type" for years. But her understanding of the world is changed forever by Varsha's revelations.

Half a century later, Varsha's case file catches the attention of a group of environmental activists, and Shoma's nephew Dinu is drawn inexorably into their plans. As Dinu finds himself caught up in the search for Varsha, buried memories of his own past begin to surface.

Traveling between late 1960s Calcutta and present-day Brooklyn, Amitav Ghosh's Ghost-Eye is an urgent and expansive novel from one of our greatest living storytellers, about family, fate, and our fragile planet.

Amitav Ghosh is the author of the bestselling Ibis Trilogy, composed of Sea of Poppies (short-listed for the Man Booker Prize), River of Smoke, and Flood of Fire. His other novels include The Circle of Reason, which won the Prix Médicis étranger, and The Glass Palace. He is also the author of many works of nonfiction, including The Great Derangement, The Nutmeg's Curse, and Smoke and Ashes. In 2018, Ghosh became the first English-language writer to win the Jnanpith Award, India's highest literary honor. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Brooke O'Harra (she/her) is a professional director, artist and writer. Brooke and Amitav collaborated with musician Ali Sethi in May 2022 to stage a musical performance of Ghosh's book Jungle Nama. Brooke O'Harra is a queer autuer theater director who often works in collaboration with poets, writers, composer and musicians. O'Harra's current projects include the upcoming performance of Be Holding, to be performed at 59th Carnegie International in Pittsburgh 2026. O'Harra (director) co-created the project with poet Ross Gay, composer Tyshawn Sorey, and the new ensemble Yarn/Wire.  She is also commissioned to develop an original performance work with the museum docents for the 59th Carnegie International.

(recorded 6/16/2026)