Sea of Poppies

Sea of Poppies Book Description

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The first in Amitav Ghosh's new trilogy of novels,
Sea of Poppies

is a stunningly vibrant and intensely human work that confirms his reputation as a master storyteller. At the heart of this epic saga is a vast ship, the Ibis. Its destiny is a tumultuous voyage across the Indian Ocean to the Mauritius Islands.

As to the people on board, they are a motley array of sailors and stowaways, coolies and convicts. In a time of colonial upheaval in the mid nineteenth century, fate has thrown together a truly diverse cast of Indians and Westerners, from a bankrupt Raja to a widowed village-woman, from a mulatto American freedman to a free-spirited European orphan. As they sail down the Hooghly and into the sea, their old family ties are washed away, and they view themselves as
jahaj-bhais

, or ship-brothers, who will build whole new lives for themselves in the remote islands where they are being taken.

It is the beginning of an unlikely dynasty. The sweep of this historical adventure spans the lush poppy fields by the Ganga, the rolling high seas, and the exotic backstreets of China at the time of the Opium Wars. But it is the panorama of characters, whose diaspora encapsulates the vexed colonial history of the East itself, which makes Sea of Poppies so breathtakingly alive?a masterpiece from one of the world`s finest novelists.

Customer Reviews

Although I have been a fan of Amitav Ghosh since I read
The Circle of Reason

in 2005, I was a bit doubtful about the
Sea of Poppies.

I thought that it will be a heavy read and picked it up with mixed feelings. From the first page though, Ghosh takes you on a journey spanning a diverse range of characters.

There is Deeti, the wife of an opium addict, trying to eke out a living and dreaming of repairing her hut's roof. There is Zachary, a "free man" from America, who has signed on as the ship Ibis's carpenter. Then, Paulette, the daughter of a French botanist, who is facing the sudden reversals in her life because of her father's death. And her childhood friend, Jodu, who is determined to live out his dream to be a lascar on a proper jahaj, and not his father's boat. And who can forget Raja Neel, more angrez than a true angrez, who speaks perfect English and has read all the English poets, but has been charged with forgery and has lost his entire fortune and reputation.

Ghosh's meticulous research into the dialects, the food, the clothes, and even the songs of each character breathes life into every one of them. Spanning the fields near Benares to the ghats of Kolkata, and onward toward Mauritius, the story seems to ride the waves of that era. Each page provides enough twists to make one want to go on to the next. Battling demons of their past?imprisonment, poverty, sati, to just mention a few?each character finally sets out on a voyage toward a new future.

Two things remain in my mind: one, when will this book be set to a movie?it's perfect for one; and two, when do I get to read the sequel?

Jonaki Ray

Deliverable Countries: This product ships to India, Sri Lanka.

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