Sea of Poppies
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Review
‘Ripping post-colonial yarn ... Ghosh spins a fine story with a quite irresistible flow, breathing exuberant life ... an absorbing vision’
(Guardian )‘Sea of Poppies Boasts a varied collection of characters to love and hate, and provides wonderfully detailed descriptions of opium production ... utterly involving and piles on tension until the very last page’
(Peter Parker, Sunday Times )‘Ghosh’s narrative is enriched with a wealth of historical detail ... as well as intricate characterisation that makes interaction among the diverse group truly absorbing’
(The Times )‘A richly drawn cast of characters ... gilded with expertly-mined historical detail’
Financial Times
'Hugely absorbing and enjoyable book. Like the opium forming its subject, the narrative becomes increasingly addictive as it takes hold'
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
45 of 46 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Another tremendous piece of storytelling from Ghosh. In Sea of Poppies he brings together a disparate group of characters who all find themselves aboard the Ibis as she sails from the Hoogly River in Calcutta to Mauritius in the 1830s. The Ibis is a "blackbirder" - a ship previously used as part of the slave trade and is now used to transport opium and other supplies to China. But with the Opium Wars looming it is decided to use the ship to take indentured labourers to Mauritius.
The opium trade is brilliantly researched and shows us the devastating effect it has on the peasants forced to grow poppies rather than food. Class and caste issues loom large throughout in a society where everyone knows where they stand in the pecking order. Only on the Ibis does this hierarchy break down as the passengers realise that they are (literally) all in the same boat.
The narrative moves swiftly and rarely slackens. The story culminates in a real cliffhanger and leaves the reader wanting to know what will happen next. (Sea of Poppies is the first part of a trilogy). The characterisations are strong and vivid although I do feel that some of the things that happen are somewhat far-fetched!
Much of the dialogue is bold and bawdy and uses lots of Anglo-Indian and Hindustani terms. This added to the rich brew of this novel although I can understand that others may find it irritating.
An energetic, ambitious and immensely moving book.
The opium trade is brilliantly researched and shows us the devastating effect it has on the peasants forced to grow poppies rather than food. Class and caste issues loom large throughout in a society where everyone knows where they stand in the pecking order. Only on the Ibis does this hierarchy break down as the passengers realise that they are (literally) all in the same boat.
The narrative moves swiftly and rarely slackens. The story culminates in a real cliffhanger and leaves the reader wanting to know what will happen next. (Sea of Poppies is the first part of a trilogy). The characterisations are strong and vivid although I do feel that some of the things that happen are somewhat far-fetched!
Much of the dialogue is bold and bawdy and uses lots of Anglo-Indian and Hindustani terms. This added to the rich brew of this novel although I can understand that others may find it irritating.
An energetic, ambitious and immensely moving book.
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
It took me a relatively long time to get into this book, ie until about 1/3 of the way through it. Then I became engrossed and couldn't put it down until the end. What made me not want to put it down, however, was that all the way through there were references as to how the journey ends for the characters, and I became more and more curious to find out what would happen to them. But, really disappointingly, by the end of the book you are no further forward as to how the characters' story ends! Having read a couple of the reviews on here I have since found out it is the first of a series to come...Although I will now look out for the next book, I was left with a very disappointed feeling having reached the end.
Another thing which I found frustrating about it was not being able to understand the language used by some of the characters, and found myself quite frustrated at not being able to understand a lot of what they were all saying throughout the book (although you can guess some of it, I had to just give up trying to guess a lot of it and skip over whole sentences).
All in all I thought it was a good story, apart from these 2 things which I found really annoying.
If you are the kind of person who likes to know the end of a story instead of being left wondering, I wouldn't recommend this book until the sequels have all been published, so that you can get them straight away afterwards...
Another thing which I found frustrating about it was not being able to understand the language used by some of the characters, and found myself quite frustrated at not being able to understand a lot of what they were all saying throughout the book (although you can guess some of it, I had to just give up trying to guess a lot of it and skip over whole sentences).
All in all I thought it was a good story, apart from these 2 things which I found really annoying.
If you are the kind of person who likes to know the end of a story instead of being left wondering, I wouldn't recommend this book until the sequels have all been published, so that you can get them straight away afterwards...
66 of 69 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I was attracted to buy this book through prior knowledge of the author, an interest in India and its history, and a professional interest in the subject of the title. Recognising that this was volume 1 of a trilogy, I realised there would be a lot of scene setting with characters establishing themselves. I thought this might be heavy going but I was wrong. I enjoyed the stories and the backgrounds that lead to them all being on the ship, the Ibis on their way to Mauritius. Throughout this wafted the sheer unpleasantness of life, the smells, the violence, the prejudice and the struggles that so many had had to overcome. Inevitably the main characters stand out as survivors with hidden depths that emerge over time. Perhaps a bit 2 dimensional as this stage.
Amitav Ghosh has done a huge amount of research into the background of life 200 years ago in India and this is reflected in the use of the vernacular languages of the time - seafaring talk, colonial English, a multitude of Indian words etc. On the one hand this was difficult to manage at first and I kept looking for a glossary (it would need to have been about 20 pages!). However, as I got used to it I found myself able to understand a lot more. My lack of understanding often matched the characters lack of comprehension of what was being said to them. Overall this mixture of language added to the flavour of the book but could be off-putting some.
It was a fast, engrossing read for me, with an unexpected cliff-hanger at the end and I am looking forward to the next instalment. I recommend it.
Amitav Ghosh has done a huge amount of research into the background of life 200 years ago in India and this is reflected in the use of the vernacular languages of the time - seafaring talk, colonial English, a multitude of Indian words etc. On the one hand this was difficult to manage at first and I kept looking for a glossary (it would need to have been about 20 pages!). However, as I got used to it I found myself able to understand a lot more. My lack of understanding often matched the characters lack of comprehension of what was being said to them. Overall this mixture of language added to the flavour of the book but could be off-putting some.
It was a fast, engrossing read for me, with an unexpected cliff-hanger at the end and I am looking forward to the next instalment. I recommend it.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
disappointing
I was looking forward to this book after reading the reviews, but l couldn't even finish it - which is very unusual for me as l like to persevere with a book to the end. Read more
Published 4 days ago by eclecticreader
Gripping and glorious
Do please try both River of Smoke and Sea of Poppies, the first two of a trilogy. Set in China during the Opium Wars, the author successfully interweaves the stories of those... Read more
Published 17 days ago by Gaelen Parker
Great characters and a superb read
This is an excellent book with compelling characters both male and female.
One of the great things about this book is the way it creates the atmosphere and feel of the... Read more
One of the great things about this book is the way it creates the atmosphere and feel of the... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Mysay
Painful!
I bought this book as I am a great fan of historical fiction and it had a number of positive reviews. However despite an interesting start the story went nowhere. Read more
Published 4 months ago by euan
Fun, and slightly swashbuckling
Great fun, and though it lags in places, overall its a worthy read. Covers the adventures of a group of Indians (and colonials) around the time of the Opium Wars in the early 19th... Read more
Published 7 months ago by ijhodgson
The lot of the powers that be
A powerful book that I could not put down... definitely to be read 1st in the trilogy. What struck me - even though it is a novel - is that the lot of - in this case - the... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Canonistic
Gripping and believable picture of a turbulent period
The gripping and intricately woven story of a group of indentured servants, convicts and other outcasts who are thrown together on a perilous sea voyage from Calcutta to Mauritius... Read more
Published 8 months ago by R Bain
Persevere
this is heavy-going at first due to the plethora of foreign words with which the text is peppered but keep going - it gets better and is a very interesting read
Published 10 months ago by Angela Macaulay
Top three on my book list!
It takes a while to get into the contemporary language of some of the characters, but it's worth persevering as this has to be one of the all-time best books I've ever read. Read more
Published 13 months ago by cardoqueen
Couldn't get into this
Having read the Glass Palace and enjoyed it, I was looking forward to reading this, but just couldn't get into it. I didn't like the patois spoken on the ship and so gave up.
Published 17 months ago by Book chatter
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