Sea of Poppies: Book One of The Ibis Trilogy

Amitav Ghosh’s astonishing adventure spans the poppy fields of the Ganges, the backstreets of China and the high seas of the Indian Ocean.At the heart of this epic saga, set just before the Opium Wars, is an old slaving ship, The Ibis. Its destiny is a tumultuous voyage across the Indian Ocean, its crew a motley array of sailors and stowaways, coolies and convicts: from a bankrupt Raja to a widowed villager, from an evangelical English opium trader to a mixed-race American freedman. They all simply view themselves as jahaj-bhais - ship brothers - in this masterpiece from one of the world’s finest novelists."His descriptions bring a lost world to life.... At times, Sea of Poppies reads like a cross between an Indian Gone with the Wind and a Victorian novel of manners...his novel is also a delight." - Shashi Tharoor, Washington PostSea of Poppies is "a remarkably rich saga . . . which has plenty of action and adventure à la Dumas, but moments also of Tolstoyan penetration--and a drop or two of Dickensian sentiment." - The Observer (London)Amitav Ghosh's work reflects his fascination with realms touched by the Indian Ocean. Sea of Poppies is the first novel in Ghosh’s ‘Ibis trilogy’ (followed by River of Smoke and Flood of Fire), which looks at the opium trade and indentured Indian labour in the first half of the 19th century. Ghosh’s work is distinguished by his mastery of complex narratives and amplitude and pacing that recalls the great Victorian novels. At the heart of this vibrant saga is a vast ship, the Ibis. Its destiny is a tumultuous voyage across the Indian Ocean; its purpose, to fight China's vicious nineteenth-century Opium Wars. As for the crew, they are a motley array of sailors and stowaways, coolies and convicts. In a time of colonial upheaval, fate has thrown together a diverse cast of Indians and Westerners, from a bankrupt raja to a widowed tribeswoman, from a mulatto American freedman to a freespirited French orphan. As their old family ties are washed away, they, like their historical counterparts, come to view themselves as jahaj-bhais, or ship-brothers. An unlikely dynasty is born, which will span continents, races, and generations. The vast sweep of this historical adventure spans the lush poppy fields of the Ganges, the rolling high seas, the exotic backstreets of Canton. But it is the panorama of characters, whose diaspora encapsulates the vexed colonial history of the East itself, that makes Sea of Poppies so breathtakingly alive - a masterpiece from one of the world's finest novelists At the heart of this epic saga, set just before the Opium Wars, is an old slave ship The Ibis. Its destiny is a tumultuous voyage across the Indian Ocean; its crew a motley array of sailors, stowaways, and convicts. In a time of colonial upheaval, the ship boasts a diverse cast of Indians, coolies, and Westerners, from a bankrupt raja to a widowed village woman, from a mulatto American to an evangelical opium trader. As their family ties wash away, they come to view themselves as jahaj-bhais, or ship-brothers, and an unlikely dynasty is born. The vast sweep of this historical adventure spans the lush poppy fields of the Ganges, the rolling high seas, and the back streets of China. But it is the panorama of sharply drawn characters that brings Sea of Poppies so breathtakingly alive. The first in a trilogy, this is a masterpiece by a world-class novelist.