Sea of Poppies (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780312428594)

The first in an epic trilogy, Amitav Ghosh's Sea 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]).

At the heart of this vibrant saga is a vast ship, the Ibis. Her destiny is a tumultuous voyage across the Indian Ocean shortly before the outbreak of the Opium Wars in China. In a time of colonial upheaval, fate has thrown together a diverse cast of Indians and Westerners on board, from a bankrupt raja to a widowed tribeswoman, from a mulatto American freedman to a free-spirited 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. The vast sweep of this historical adventure spans the lush poppy fields of the Ganges, the rolling high seas, and the exotic backstreets of Canton.

With a panorama of characters whose diaspora encapsulates the vexed colonial history of the East itself, Sea of Poppies is "a storm-tossed adventure worthy of Sir Walter Scott" (Vogue).

Author: Amitav Ghosh
ISBN-10: 0312428596
ISBN-13: 9780312428594
Publisher: Picador USA
Language: English
Published: 09/29/2009
Pages: 560
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.95lbs
Size: 8.20h x 5.40w x 1.00d

Review Citation(s):
New York Times Book Review 10/25/2009 pg. 24
London Review of Books 10/22/2009 pg. 23
Entertainment Weekly 11/13/2009 pg. 99
People Weekly 11/30/2009 pg. 57
BookPage 10/01/2009