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Artworks
General Firebrand and His Red Atlas
May 10, 2024
5.30 PM
Amphitheatre, First Floor, Emami Art
Emami Art, in collaboration with Seagull Books
Releasing in Calcutta, Tathagata Bhattacharya’s explosive debut novel. Followed by a conversation between the author and his editor, Sunandini Banerjee.
About the Book
In a world on the brink of totalitarian rule, one man rises from the shadows to ignite a revolution and becomes the unlikely leader of a war of resistance that will shake the very foundations of power. General Firebrand, considered a pariah by society, rises up against the country’s fascist regime. And garners support from the unlikeliest allies: Beasts and birds of the jungle join the struggle. Spirits of historical figures from past wars and fictional characters with supernatural abilities. As a devastating secret is revealed, the battle for liberation takes on new dimensions, exposing the fragility of rationality and the weight of historical wrongs committed in the name of a supposedly humane ideology. An explosive debut novel that challenges conventional wisdom and explores the complexities of courage, doubt and the pursuit of justice in a world dominated by fear.
About the Author
Tathagata Bhattacharya is a journalist and sustainability expert who divides his time between the plains of Delhi and the mountains of Uttarakhand. He has over two decades of experience in writing and reporting as well as editorial management of diverse teams and media verticals. His current obsession is the mainstreaming of climate change–friendly habitats. He is the only child of cult Bengali writer Nabarun Bhattacharya and the only grandchild of noted playwright-director Bijon Bhattacharya and writer-activist Mahasweta Devi. General Firebrand and His Red Atlas is his first novel.
About the Designer
Sunandini Banerjee is Senior Editor and Graphic Designer at Seagull Books. She is also a translator and a digital-collage artist whose works have been exhibited in India and abroad.
Reviews and Comments
‘With talking animals and flying saucers, ghosts of Russian generals from the Stalinist era and characters from the Bengali writer and Bhattacharya’s father Nabarun Bhattacharya’s last and unfinished novel, General Firebrand and the Red Atlas is a novel that, in itself, is uncategorisable. A satire on authoritarianism, it is a chronicle of the good fight, of a revolution, with all its magic and misery.’—Alexander Sebastian, The New India Express.
