Write a 4-5-page book review on Amitav Ghosh’s account of life across the medieval Indian Ocean as reconstructed in his In an Antique Land. Devote the first 3-5 paragraphs briefly presenting who the author is , identifying the genre or style of the book , and providing a quick sketch of the work’s plotline.

Write a 4-5-page book review on Amitav Ghosh’s account of life across the medieval Indian Ocean as reconstructed in his In an Antique Land. Devote the first 3-5 paragraphs briefly presenting who the author is , identifying the genre or style of the book , and providing a quick sketch of the work’s plotline. Next, address how Ghosh relies on geniza documentation from the synagogue of Ben Ezra in Fatimid Fustāt(old Cairo) to reconstruct aspects of the medieval past. Please use Mark Cohen’s essay on the Geniza in addition to Ghosh’s own explanation of this strange institution to help make your case. Finally, address how the author contrasts his retelling of life in the medieval past with a critique of life in the twentieth century. Do you think Ghosh’s account of life in the medieval world of North Africa and the Indian Ocean presents a compelling case of convivencia between individuals from different communal and religious backgrounds? How does Ghosh use this “world of accommodations” to offer a contrast and critique of life in our own world of “exclusion”? Do you find his contrast convincing?

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