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...
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reviews
Apr 10, 2010
karen
rated it: 
donald harington recommended this book to me and now that he's gone, i can't even talk about it with him, and that is what i was thinking the whole time i was reading this book. if i hadn't had to read it for school, i would have waited until the other two books in the trilogy were published, so i could have had at them all at once, but again, school screws up my plans. it's an amazingly quick read - i was under the impression that i was supposed to have read it for yesterday's class so i zipped
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17 comments
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(22 people liked it)
Apr 21, 2010
Fiona
rated it: 
Sea of Poppies is the first book in the Ibis trilogy and I simply can't wait to read the second. Unfortunately Ghosh took four years to write this one and according to an interview hasn't even started the next ones yet. I do hope he doesn't leave us hanging for too long because this book definitely leaves you wanting to read more.
Ghosh is a fantastic author and I truly want to read more of his books. Sea of Poppies, compared to the other books of his I have read (The Hungry Tide and More...
Ghosh is a fantastic author and I truly want to read more of his books. Sea of Poppies, compared to the other books of his I have read (The Hungry Tide and More...
8 comments
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(9 people liked it)
Sep 14, 2009
Sandybanks
rated it:
A beautifully written historical novel about 1830's India in the grip of the opium trade. The characters are just as diverse as the British Empire itself, each with their own dialects and idiosyncracies, all brought together by the opium trade's many tentacled hands into the Ibis, on a voyage that will irrevocably changed them forever. The author has obviously done a massive amount of research into the period, and this novel is so rich with details that it could veritably serve as an encyclopaed
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16 comments
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(11 people liked it)
Nov 05, 2008
Richard
rated it:
t's good to hear (though it's unconfirmed,) that "Sea of Poppies," is part one of a projected trilogy, because although it's a beautifully styled (I'd say extravagantly written,) completely engaging, well researched work of historical fiction, it closes without a satisfactory end. Three stars as a stand-alone, (despite its many merits, and because of the ending;) five stars if it is, indeed, installment one.
Beautifully styled - extravagantly written. I've not read other wo More...
Beautifully styled - extravagantly written. I've not read other wo More...
0 comments
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(5 people liked it)
Aug 25, 2008
Nancy
rated it:
Very broad in scope, Sea of Poppies is nonetheless an enchanting read, one that had me stopping normal routine so as to get back to it every time I had to put it down. Before you read this, however, you should know that it is designed as the first entry of what will eventually be a trilogy based on the ship Ibis and a group of people who, for whatever reason, found themselves aboard her. I say this because without understanding this point, you may feel a bit cheated by the ending of the novel.
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3 comments
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(7 people liked it)
Oct 28, 2008
Sara-Maria
rated it:
there is much to learn of the context of the hugely important opium trade in these pages. this is, of course, what the book promises and ghosh delivers with studied and fascinating detail to be sure. The plot is such that story lines intertwine and characters are guided together onto the Ibis (a ship originally designed to transport slaves) by circumstance, premonition, and force. the characters' journeys by land, river and sea are our access to different stages in the cultivation, transportati
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3 comments
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(4 people liked it)
Sep 30, 2008
Christopher
rated it: 
I had forgotten how annoyed I was at The Glass Palace; only to be remembered during Sea of Poppies.
A group of random individuals end up on a former slave ship as it makes it way from India to China during the opening years of the Opium Wars, in the first half of the 19th century. It's a good yarn, although intended as the first in a series of three, don't expect anything like a complete story here - Amitav Ghosh practically lets you off mid-sentence.
Whilst a colourful st More...
A group of random individuals end up on a former slave ship as it makes it way from India to China during the opening years of the Opium Wars, in the first half of the 19th century. It's a good yarn, although intended as the first in a series of three, don't expect anything like a complete story here - Amitav Ghosh practically lets you off mid-sentence.
Whilst a colourful st More...
Jan 17, 2009
Tara
rated it:
I loved this book. 4.5 stars easy. It takes place at the beginning of the Opium Wars, a time that I knew nothing about in that part of the world (India early 19th c.) It is gorgeously written with a great cast of sympathetic characters, all of whose lives are being affected by the opium trade and rampant imperialism. Strong themes of transformation and rebirth. And the first part of a trilogy - it will be hard to wait for the rest. Highly recommended, suitable for all readers.
7 comments
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(5 people liked it)
Apr 26, 2009
Petra X
rated it:
If I had known this book was the first part of a trilogy - the other books as yet unwritten - and that the book was not complete unto itself, in other words, this saga is a serial rather than a series, I would probably not have bought it. And then I would have missed a book interesting for its historical period (the Opium Wars with China) about which I knew nothing, for its finely-drawn characters and general good-all-round storytelling.
This is really a 5-star book, but I am only More...
This is really a 5-star book, but I am only More...
2 comments
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(7 people liked it)
Nov 30, 2010
Doug
rated it:
This is quite a book and I have given it five stars because it is brilliant, well researched, beautifully written and right up there with some of the very best, similar in some ways, for example, to the Master and Commander series. However, I have a few observations and comments to make. The fat lady hasn't quite sung yet.
1. This is the first book in a trilogy. It ends with only two loose ends tied of dozens and dozens. There was some retribution in the end of the book but it More...
1. This is the first book in a trilogy. It ends with only two loose ends tied of dozens and dozens. There was some retribution in the end of the book but it More...
15 comments
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(2 people liked it)
Dec 07, 2010
Praj
rated it:
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 copulating gremlins.
Sea of Poppies irrespective to the fact of it being the preamble to Ghosh’s Ibis trilogy and the onset ambience of the epic Anglo-Chinese Opium War,falls short More...
Sea of Poppies irrespective to the fact of it being the preamble to Ghosh’s Ibis trilogy and the onset ambience of the epic Anglo-Chinese Opium War,falls short More...
Sep 22, 2010
Jamie
rated it:
This is a very enjoyable read, a complex story that delves into and exposes a culture I will probably never see first-hand. Effectively moving, it manages to pull your emotions and affections in all directions at once. It brings to life traditions and history that have been nearly lost, and it asks us to consider our own society in the light of this one so very different and so very similar to our own. It makes me wonder if I would have had the guts and the ingenuity to make it in that world - i
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(1 person liked it)
Jul 20, 2010
Secnud
rated it:
Of ships that sail troubled waters, carrying souls tortured by the ‘Divide’; caste, class, racial and sexual. Of injustices carried out in the name of justice. The IBIS is overloaded with all kinds of deceitful activity, each a justified means to an end which seems further and further away, as the days pass on and the banks hold back while the women laborers bond as they endure getting raped or pregnant or married and the English Captain is bullied or befriended or the prisoners wallow in their
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0 comments
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(4 people liked it)
Jul 15, 2010
Mady
rated it:
Just finished reading this book and now I want moooooore!! This is the first book of a triology and the 2nd book hasn't been published yet! Arghhh!
I want to know more about former raja Neel, about camaleonic Paulette, about her almost brother Jodu, about resourceful Deeti, about freshman seaman Zachary... It took me a little while to get to know the characters (because they are a few!), but once I did, I could relate to them all and started reading at full speed. This novel takes pla More...
I want to know more about former raja Neel, about camaleonic Paulette, about her almost brother Jodu, about resourceful Deeti, about freshman seaman Zachary... It took me a little while to get to know the characters (because they are a few!), but once I did, I could relate to them all and started reading at full speed. This novel takes pla More...
3 comments
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(2 people liked it)
Mar 09, 2010
Vicki
rated it:
I learned a great deal of history about India and opium poppy production. It made me cringe to learn how the East India company, owned and run by people in the British Empire, purposefully addicted many Chinese to opium. AND purposefully enslaved many Indians. Nevertheless, the characters were very engaging, and I can't wait to read the sequels.
Sep 18, 2008
Sonya
rated it:
I love Ghosh's description of the opium trade, the warehouses, the culture around the business and of course, the countless afhimkhors. He loves breaking down the acceptable social boundaries of human relationships - its something he explores in many of his books, as he does here in the relationship between the French orphan Paulette and the son of her Bengali maid, Jodu, and Deeti's elopement with Kalua after he boldly rescues her from the burning pyre of her sattidom. I really enjoyed the way
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(2 people liked it)
Aug 10, 2010
Paul
rated it:
Wow! I absolutely loved this book. To be transported to a time and place so completely foreign to me was a joy. Ghosh's playful use of the English language interspersed with several Indian dialects and seafarer's slang brought the travels of the Ibis on the Hooghly river and the Bay of Bengal to vivid life. The nicknames, anglicized versions and mispronunciations of various characters names made the characters more human and real and kept the story lighthearted while dealing with difficult cul
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(1 person liked it)
Jul 31, 2010
Jason
rated it: 
Is it possible for there to be a star in between "I liked it" and "I really liked it"? Yes, I did like, if not really like, this book. But I know that it's only going to get better. From what I've read, his books usually blow me away in the end. But this book is the first in a trilogy! How can I judge it? Yes, I did like it. But I know it will only get better, and I like it more than other books that "I liked." However, it does not transcend, which would earn it a "
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(1 person liked it)
Feb 03, 2009
Saralyn
rated it:
Centered around the passengers and crew of a converted slave ship, now opium trader and indentured servant transport, it is a fascinating exploration of the interaction of Indian and British culture during the early 19th century. Discussion of the role of the British in India and China, the opium trade, details about Hindu beliefs and rituals. Filled with period detail and fascinating characters. A part-black ship's carpenter who has become the ship's second mate through unexpected turns of f
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(1 person liked it)
Dec 22, 2008
Eva
rated it:
Set in India in the 1830's against a backdrop of the Opium trade, this is one of those books in which many different people from various walks of life all come together in one place like strands in a braid. There's a free black man from the U.S. (passing as white, though not on purpose) who is relishing the sailing life, a young Indian widow whose husband's opium addiction closed off all her options, an educated Raja whose debt lands him in prison, a young white woman and the son of the Indian
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0 comments
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(1 person liked it)
Feb 09, 2012
Joanne
rated it:
The vision of a tall-masted ship, at sail on the ocean, came to Deeti on an otherwise ordinary day, but she knew instantly that the appartition was a sign of destiny......
This is how the novel opens. That ship, the Ibis, is part of Deeti's destiny, and the destiny of a lot of other people too.
The story is set in nineteenth century India, against the backdrop of the Raj and the opium trade. Deeti's livelihood depends on the trade, but her husband is a useless addict, and s More...
This is how the novel opens. That ship, the Ibis, is part of Deeti's destiny, and the destiny of a lot of other people too.
The story is set in nineteenth century India, against the backdrop of the Raj and the opium trade. Deeti's livelihood depends on the trade, but her husband is a useless addict, and s More...
Feb 06, 2012
Mona
rated it:
This is an incredibly well-researched book that centers around the opium trade. It's a piece of historical fiction (part I of his three-part Ibis trilogy). What I found really interesting was the language... Laskari seafarers' language. It's a combination of various languages (Persian, Hindi, Bengali, Malayalam, Tamil, Portuguese, English, etc... the sea traders' languages basically). I know the book got a lot of flak for having so much of this language in it, but I liked it. If you know some of
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Jan 14, 2012
Andy
rated it:
Enjoyed this immensely. Amitav Ghos captures the India of the Opium Wars era perfectly, and written more from the point of view of the Indians it offers a very different view of the colonial era that a lot of other novels thus set.
It is based around a motley crew of characters, Indian "coolies" looking to work for the British in Mauritius, prisoners also being transported and the crew of the ship, the Ibis. It is the first part of a trilogy, part two is out now as well, and ends More...
It is based around a motley crew of characters, Indian "coolies" looking to work for the British in Mauritius, prisoners also being transported and the crew of the ship, the Ibis. It is the first part of a trilogy, part two is out now as well, and ends More...
Dec 08, 2011
Cmorice
rated it:
En 1838, des personnages venant d’univers aussi variés que celui des esclaves venus des États-Unis, des rajas indiens, des opiomanes chinois et des lascars cosmopolites se retrouvent embarqués à bord de l’Ibis, une goélette en route pour l’île Maurice.
« Impossible d'imaginer un auteur contemporain avec lequel il est aussi palpitant d'aller aussi loin, aussi vite. »
The Times
L'Ibis, ancien transporteur d'esclaves reconverti en navire marchand, est au cœur de cette extraordinair More...
« Impossible d'imaginer un auteur contemporain avec lequel il est aussi palpitant d'aller aussi loin, aussi vite. »
The Times
L'Ibis, ancien transporteur d'esclaves reconverti en navire marchand, est au cœur de cette extraordinair More...
Nov 17, 2011
Yvonne
rated it:
Ik las het boek in een (sublieme)vertaling en mijn bespreking is daarom in het Nederlands.
Geheel onverwacht las ik deze pil van pakweg 600 pagina's achterelkaar uit. Een rasverteller die Ghosh. Gelukkig is het deel 1 van een trilogie. Helaas moeten deel 2 en 3 nog worden geschreven. Dat wordt dus wachten. Waar gaat het over?
De flappen helpen mij (maar niet helemaal, want 't blijkt niet te kloppen): Het reusachtige schip de Ibis (een schoener) staat op het punt een bij voorbaat More...
Geheel onverwacht las ik deze pil van pakweg 600 pagina's achterelkaar uit. Een rasverteller die Ghosh. Gelukkig is het deel 1 van een trilogie. Helaas moeten deel 2 en 3 nog worden geschreven. Dat wordt dus wachten. Waar gaat het over?
De flappen helpen mij (maar niet helemaal, want 't blijkt niet te kloppen): Het reusachtige schip de Ibis (een schoener) staat op het punt een bij voorbaat More...
Aug 13, 2011
Gina
rated it:
This book had a lot of great things about it and a lot of frustrating things about it. Fortunately, the good things outweighed the bad and this ended up being, in my mind, a solid book.
I love reading books set in India, especially when there are foreigner characters involved. There is invariably some exposition that involves Indians and foreigners trying to understand each other's culture. In this book, I liked that there were rich characters (including one who became equivalent to th More...
I love reading books set in India, especially when there are foreigner characters involved. There is invariably some exposition that involves Indians and foreigners trying to understand each other's culture. In this book, I liked that there were rich characters (including one who became equivalent to th More...
Aug 04, 2011
Sundarraj
rated it:
A nice book that traces the journey of Deeti, The Raja of Rungpur and Paulette Lambert along with a host of other characters out of India. Their journey does not end with the book. Amitav has promised a trilogy so we await the second one.
In the early 19th century Poppy flourished as a trading commodity. It had not yet been outlawed. The British were trying to create a big market in China and poppy was grown in the north of Indian subcontinent.
This is where the story start More...
In the early 19th century Poppy flourished as a trading commodity. It had not yet been outlawed. The British were trying to create a big market in China and poppy was grown in the north of Indian subcontinent.
This is where the story start More...
Jul 29, 2011
Ghosh delivers again in this tale of a very disparate group of people searching to end their past lives and start afresh away from India. Ghosh manages to deeply connect the reader with each of his characters, including a raj who lives on borrowed riches. This tale takes a far flung group who should never cross each other's paths and makes their survival and success intregal to each other's without the reader feeling they are being asked to stretch their disbelief one step too far. While I do
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Jul 29, 2011
This is the best book that I have read in quite some time--I have two of his on my book shelf unread (The Hungry Tide and The Glass Palace), but I was compelled to read this because I really liked the Man Booker Prize winner this year, and this was one of the books short-listed--so I am working my through the 5 other contenders , and I really liked this even more so. It is a sweeping tale told in the mid-1800's around the opium trade, and centering on the Ibis, a ship--there are several tales t
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Jul 18, 2011
Steven
rated it:
A great book which combines the glories of a 19th century sailing adventure and documents the horrors/arrogance of colonialism. Note the fact there is a glossary at the back of the book, which helps explains some of the terms used.
Page 205
"When Deeti and Kalua went down to the ghat they saw why the duffadar had been in such a hurry that morning: now, the river ahead was clogged by a huge fleet that was bearing slowly down on the ghats of Chhapra, from upstream. In the le More...
Page 205
"When Deeti and Kalua went down to the ghat they saw why the duffadar had been in such a hurry that morning: now, the river ahead was clogged by a huge fleet that was bearing slowly down on the ghats of Chhapra, from upstream. In the le More...
