SOURCE: “The Persistence of Memory in Love and War,” in Christian Science Monitor, February 8, 2001, p. 20.

In the following positive review, Hewett compliments Ghosh's weaving of history and political turmoil into the lives of his characters in The Glass Palace.

Amitav Ghosh's sweeping historical novel, The Glass Palace, begins with a young boy watching the British storm the Burmese royal fortress in 1885. Eleven-year-old Rajkumar, an impoverished orphan from India, sneaks into the forbidden palace and meets Dolly, a beautiful young court attendant. Amid the chaos of looting and violence, Dolly's face is permanently etched into Rajkumar's memory.

Soon after, Dolly follows the banished king and queen to India, while Rajkumar stays in Burma, making his fortune in the timber industry.

The young man is haunted by Dolly until years later, when he meets her again in India. The Glass Palace traces the story of their love during the tumultuous...