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Sea of Poppies A Novel The Ibis Trilogy Amitav Ghosh 9780312428594 Books

Download As PDF : Sea of Poppies A Novel The Ibis Trilogy Amitav Ghosh 9780312428594 Books

Sea of Poppies A Novel The Ibis Trilogy Amitav Ghosh 9780312428594 Books

There are four main reasons why Amitov Ghosh’s “Sea of Poppies” is an excellent book: the time period, the characters, the language, and storytelling.

The book takes place in 1839. Although the Opium Wars are mentioned only in passing, it is their coming that sets the book in motion. All the characters’ lives revolve around opium in one way or another, whether it is growing poppies, working in processing factories, owning the land in which the poppies are grown, or running the trading companies that move opium into China. This is a time period and setting rarely explored in fiction. The story takes place on Ganges and Hooghly Rivers before moving to the Bay of Bengal. Historically, this is clearly an important region in world politics, but I know little about it.

The characters are all real and believable. They are all strangely and plausibly pulled into one another’s lives. They span a diverse gamut: from an American carpenter whose mother was a slave to lower caste Hindus, from colonial entrepreneurs to sailors of murky origins. Even when their backgrounds are shown in the narrative, many of the characters remain mysterious.

The language of the book is just beautiful. Ghosh mixes any number of foreign languages along with period words and slang to keep the book moving. Using context clues, it is very easy to see what each word or phrase means. The language serves to give the book color and depth. It is not necessary to understand every single word, although it is possible, because the characters always act in character, with logic according to their situation.

Lastly, the storytelling is spellbinding. It is cliché to say that Ghosh “weaves” storylines together, but he does. He runs with one storyline and only in its last paragraph does the reader realize the connection with another story or character. This is artful, modern, and very poetic.

I have recently tried to branch out and read more fiction. Ghosh shows exactly why I should be reading more fiction. I look forward to reading the next two books in this series.


Tags : Sea of Poppies: A Novel (The Ibis Trilogy) [Amitav Ghosh] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The first in an epic trilogy, Sea of Poppies</i> is a remarkably rich saga . . . which has plenty of action and adventure à la Dumas,Amitav Ghosh,Sea of Poppies: A Novel (The Ibis Trilogy),Picador,0312428596,Historical,Literary,India - Social conditions - 19th century,Opium trade - History,Sailors,Sailors;Fiction.,Schooners,Schooners;Fiction.,Social classes - India,Voyages and travels,Voyages and travels;Fiction.,010603 FSG Picador-All Prior Years TP,FICTION Historical General,FICTION Literary,Fiction,Fiction - Historical,Fiction-Literary,FictionLiterary,GENERAL,General Adult,Historical - General,Historical General,Historical fiction,Sea Stories,literary fiction; historical fiction; historical fiction novels; nautical fiction; maritime fiction; sea fiction; ocean fiction; ocean stories; sea story; sea adventure; high seas adventure; adventure at sea; opium wars; china fiction; china novels; hong kong fiction; indian literature; indian authors; colonialism; imperialism; canton; world literature; historical fiction books; best historical fiction; books historical fiction; best historical fiction books; best historical fiction novels,literary fiction; historical fiction; historical fiction novels; nautical fiction; maritime fiction; sea fiction; ocean fiction; ocean stories; sea story; sea adventure; high seas adventure; adventure at sea; opium wars; china fiction; china novels; hong kong fiction; indian literature; indian authors; colonialism; imperialism; canton; world literature; historical fiction; historical fiction books; historical fiction novels; best historical fiction; books historical fiction; best historical fiction books; best historical fiction novels,FICTION Historical General,FICTION Literary,FictionLiterary,Historical - General,Historical General,Sea Stories,Fiction - Historical,Fiction,Historical fiction

Sea of Poppies A Novel The Ibis Trilogy Amitav Ghosh 9780312428594 Books Reviews

I began reading this because a colleague mentioned it and at first I actually tried to use the "Glossary" at the end. I quickly abandoned that scholarly maze and just listened to the sound for the meaning. At the same time I went online to see what others thought of the book and was not surprised there's a large number of people who hated it because of the linguistic license (they're probably the same people who won't watch a movie with subtitles). Soon, after just listening to the sounds of the words they became self-evident and transparent. The story is wonderful. This is a new classic.
Very challenging and interesting book; especially liked the use of Indian words with no translation - but the writing was so good that there was no doubt of the meaning. The story line flowed from an Indian village down the river to the sea and out to the ocean with all the difficulties of sail. My friends and I are planning to read the second and third books in the trilogy as the firstheld our attention from start to finish
The Sea of Poppies, the first book in the Ibis trilogy by Anita's Ghosh is a magnificent novel of India and China during the middle of the nineteenth century when Britain was exploiting the opium trade. There is a blend of adventure and romance set against the struggle for personal independence from the caste system and national independence from British rule. There is great scope to this novel. I can't wait to read the rest of the trilogy and everything else that Mr Ghosh has written.
It is masterfully beautiful that all threads come together gradually in the first two thirds of the book. The last one thirds is equally brilliant, but the pace is too fast compared to the former. Final scenes are really too abrupt and the book ends suddenly and unexpectedly, leaving too many things unexplained and unanswered and it will force me to read the sequel.

I like the book for its story, language and atmosphere, but it really makes me ponder that whether or not a book in a trilogy should be judged separately, and whether or not a book in a trilogy should be self-contained?
This is a must read for anyone who realizes they don't know much about history and want to get it via a delicious read. Sea of Poppies is the first of the now completed trilogy - (Sea of Poppies, River of Smoke, and finally, Flood of Fire). I am reading the final volume presently and find it somewhat bawdier than the earlier books. My friend and I have read Sea of Poppies and River of Smoke aloud, and are now reading Flood of Fire. The ribald scenes in this final volume are a sort of joyful unwrapping of a lot of Victorian secrets. I strongly recommend this trilogy to anyone who wants to get a picture of 19th century British, American, and Indian commercial adventurism in China. The story is captivating and one learns something one should have (but probably did not) become aware of in high school and college. China is an issue today, right? So we have history with them. It's about opium and tea - it's business history (politics being the mere shadow of business) and a great story.
There is certainly no substitute for holding this book in your hands and turning its pages with eager anticipation, but I urge even those who have read, are reading, or are about to read the book to listen to it also on CD or MP3. Phil Gigante's narration is flawless. His ability to create the right nuance for each one of the novel's many male and female voices is astonishing. Pigeon English, seafarer sea-language, various Indian dialects, French -- he masters them all.
The book itself? A triumph of character development. And if you're the sort of reader who likes to finish a book with the satisfaction of having learned a great deal about cultures, religion, friendship, geography, history, and gratitude, this story is for you.
There are four main reasons why Amitov Ghosh’s “Sea of Poppies” is an excellent book the time period, the characters, the language, and storytelling.

The book takes place in 1839. Although the Opium Wars are mentioned only in passing, it is their coming that sets the book in motion. All the characters’ lives revolve around opium in one way or another, whether it is growing poppies, working in processing factories, owning the land in which the poppies are grown, or running the trading companies that move opium into China. This is a time period and setting rarely explored in fiction. The story takes place on Ganges and Hooghly Rivers before moving to the Bay of Bengal. Historically, this is clearly an important region in world politics, but I know little about it.

The characters are all real and believable. They are all strangely and plausibly pulled into one another’s lives. They span a diverse gamut from an American carpenter whose mother was a slave to lower caste Hindus, from colonial entrepreneurs to sailors of murky origins. Even when their backgrounds are shown in the narrative, many of the characters remain mysterious.

The language of the book is just beautiful. Ghosh mixes any number of foreign languages along with period words and slang to keep the book moving. Using context clues, it is very easy to see what each word or phrase means. The language serves to give the book color and depth. It is not necessary to understand every single word, although it is possible, because the characters always act in character, with logic according to their situation.

Lastly, the storytelling is spellbinding. It is cliché to say that Ghosh “weaves” storylines together, but he does. He runs with one storyline and only in its last paragraph does the reader realize the connection with another story or character. This is artful, modern, and very poetic.

I have recently tried to branch out and read more fiction. Ghosh shows exactly why I should be reading more fiction. I look forward to reading the next two books in this series.