by Amitav Ghosh
Dense, gripping drama about a diverse cast of characters in 1800s India all in one way or another in the grip of the opium trade. Deeti is a married woman whose husband works harvesting and processing the stuff; Paulette is an orphan lodged with a missionary family; Zachary works on a ship transport...
3.5I understand why this would be Booker nominated. Seriously, I do. Sea of Poppies is a great book; I just feel it wasn't the book for me. Some parts were absolutely memorable, some were not. What was great: The book features a multitude of characters - an eclectic mix of people from different back...
2.5 starsI concur with Jessica Hislop's review.
A ripping yarn involving a disparate cross-section of characters caught up in the opium trade. It definitely falls in the ‘adventure’ category; it clearly has the characters to root for and the ones to loathe. The book gives an excellent view on a personal level of how the opium trade affected colon...
For all the hype it has generated, this book was sorely disappointing. It is a very fast read, and a good adventure yarn...and that is all. From a booker prize nominee, I expected something more.The characters lack depth. The bad guys are evil, the good guys good. And some, like Nob Kissin Pande...
Deeti, Kalua, Zachary, Serang Ali, Paulette, Neel and Baboo Kissin, I am afraid I have to abruptly dismiss our modest tea party. The biscuits are soggy, sandwiches are musty and the Darjeeling brew is insipid. So slip me some "black tar" and I’m off to the land of nocturnal rainbows bedecked with co...
This historic novel is about the lives of several people from all over the world whose destiny brings them together on the sailing ship, The Ibis. The story is set in the 1800's in India under British rule. Opium, grown in India, is being traded to China, not only to give British access to Chinese...
This book really disappointed me. I have always loved Ghosh's books, so I would have to call this a big let down. This book needs a glossary of Indian terms. Maybe the dialogue was made real through these terms, but it also became impossible to really understand the what was being said. Most paragra...
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