UNDERSTANDING AND LIVING DIASPORA IN MICHAEL ONDAATJE’S RUNNING IN THE FAMILY AND AMITAV GHOSH’S THE SHADOW LINES

Abstract

Contemporary times are placed under the rubric of postcoloniality and
postmodernity and on many fronts it feels as if the world we are entering is anxious
and dark. The uncertainties and newness we now confront prompt radical
questions about ourselves: Where do we belong? How can we find a sense of self
within this diversity and confusion? This article looks at two books, namely
Michael Ondaatje’s Running in the Family and Amitav Ghosh’s The Shadow Lines.
Though written in the 1980s, these texts still talk about our current realities and are
profound studies of the condition of diaspora and how it affects individuals and
communities. Both texts also seem to suggest alternative ways of belonging to the
places and spaces of the world which are becoming increasingly complex with its
overlaps of histories and cultures.