Sea of Poppies (Ibis Trilogy) (Ibis Trilogy)

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Sea of Poppies (Ibis Trilogy) (Ibis Trilogy #1)

by Amitav Ghosh, Phil Gigante (Narrator)

3.85 · rating details · 3,376 ratings · 789 reviews

At the heart of this vibrant saga is an immense 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 Westerne...more

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Apr 10, 2010

karen rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: distant-lands, it-is-for-class, littry-fiction

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...more

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Nov 15, 2009

Fiona rated it

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Shelves: books-i-own, setting-india, historical, 2009, bought-new

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 ...moreSea 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 The Glass Palace feels a lot more 'novelish' then his others. I feel he had a lot of fun with this one more so then his others.

Set just before the Opium Wars, the book takes you on a journey through India, drawing people from all over to bring them to the ship - the Ibis. Sea of Poppies introduces you to the cast of characters that will propel the rest of the trilogy onwards through the coming journey. Each of them some how, has been touched by the poppy seed, the opium trade which the British colonists forced India into producing.

The British are represented by Ghosh as unsympathetic buffoons in a way that it a little too much like a caricature but I think this was his desired effect. He did not wish to give them personality or individuality. As a whole, they are not to be liked.

Immediately upon starting this novel, you are wrapped in the smells, the touch and the language of India. Ghosh seems to have swallowed a dictionary and has given each character their own way of speaking. The language of the lascars I found to be a bit confusing at first but after a while you find yourself immersed. What’s interesting I thought was how a lot of Indian words infected the British people’s vocabulary. “dekko” meaning ‘to look’ for instance is quite commonly used. Such words become self explanatory in the context used and each add a little bit of colour to the way Ghosh paints his story. Each character has a different way of speaking – from educated English, Bhojpuri, Hindustani, Lascari among others.

I really enjoyed this book, enough to give it a generous five stars. If GR had half stars perhaps it would have been a 4.5 instead. I think it will be a magnificent trilogy and I am just dying to read more. Maybe I will have to settle with reading the other books by Ghosh in the meanwhile.
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Sep 14, 2009

Sandybanks rated it

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Shelves: long-ago-and-never-was, the-empire-writes-back, 5-star-reads, 2009, india

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...more

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Nov 05, 2008

Richard rated it

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Recommends it for: sacha, chris holmes

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...moret'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 works by Amitav Ghosh, so I'm not familiar with his stylistic strategies, but "The Sea of Poppies," is written with the love of language I've come to expect from Indian novelists. Mr. Ghosh has captured both the English and the "Hing-lish," of the Victorian Age, and enriched it with a delightful and descriptive patois and pidgin. I don't know how much Mr. Ghosh has invented whole cloth, and how much is a result of research, but it's hugely entertaining, and perhaps near genius. Yes, it does leave you slightly at sea in terms of full understanding, but I find that to be part of the charm. (I've nodded my head in befuddlement in many countries.) It reminds me of the language recorded in the Booker Prize winning, Sacred Hunger" by Barry Unsworth, another beautifully written novel about fretful times.

Well researched. Even as a student of India, the scenes and details of "The Sea of Poppies," were new to me. Village life, city life; the tics, prejudices, and beliefs of the hoi polloi as well as the ruling classes; the facts and lore of the opium trade, the merchant life, and life at sea are all well limned and thoroughly convincing - and enchanting, though not in the whimsical sense that word is usually employed to describe. The description of a walk through an opium refining plant is worth the price of admission. Mr Ghosh engages all the readers' senses in his detailed portrayals of character as well as location. You can smell the ship, "Ibis," not pleasant, but...

Totally engaging. I can't say as I experienced a dull moment. It's a romance, an adventure, a history all combined with a colorful cast of characters and exotic settings.

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Aug 25, 2008

Nancy rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: anyone of a literary bent

Shelves: booker-prize-longlist, historical-fiction

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.
...moreVery 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.

This was the first book I've read by Amitav Ghosh, and while he's writing his second book in the trilogy, I'm going to backtrack and read some of his other work. In Sea of Poppies, the story is divided into three sections: Land, River, Sea, moving the story along from the introduction to all of these very colorful characters to their assembly and journey on the Ibis (which used to carry slaves and now transports workers and convicts to Mauritius). The characters range from a young widow whose fate would have been to join her husband in death in sati, or throwing herself into his funeral pyre, which would elevate the status of her husband's family, to a group of lascars who will crew the Ibis, headed by a chief who seems to have his own agenda as regards the second mate, one Zachary Reid, a freedman from Baltimore. There are also a group of people being transported to work in Mauritius, many of whom were caught up in the cycle of being forced to grow poppies for the British opium trade with China. There is also a raja who has been brought down via a cocked-up set of false charges, and a half-Chinese opium addict who is the raja's cell mate in the brig. Others rounding out the list are the daughter of a French botanist who came late to colonial propriety, and one Baboo Nob Kissin, who feels that he has another's soul inside of him. Each one of these people has his or her own story, and these are woven into the fabric of the novel as the tale progresses. Underlying most of their stories is the hard and fast fact of British colonialism in India -- and all of its accompanying hypocrisy and self-imposed superiority.

Sea of Poppies is a wonderful tale on a grand scale and I can recommend it very highly. Don't get frustrated with the ending, though; look at it as the start of an epic adventure.(less)

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Oct 28, 2008

Sara-Maria Sorentino rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: commodities

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...more

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Sep 30, 2008

Christopher rated it

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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

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Jan 17, 2009

Tara rated it

· review of another edition

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.

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Apr 26, 2009

Petra X rated it

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Shelves: 2009, fiction

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

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Nov 29, 2010

Doug Bradshaw rated it

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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 ...moreThis 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 came at a huge cost. I became emotionally tied to many of the characters and I love many of them and yet I don't think I ever shed a tear. I may, however, in the future.

2. One of the main themes of the book was to show how unfairly governments (mostly the Brits), rulers, the caste system, people of greater status over those of lesser means, powerful businessmen, captains and officers on board the ship and many others, rule over other people. Although I believe this picture was a very accurate picture of reality, it's sometimes almost too much to bear. We have to go through every painful detail of every evil deed and the world almost seems like it's literally hell with very little heaven. That said, there are some very heroic and excellent moments of sacrifice and good. But it's primarily a very dark picture of much of humanity, at least of that era of India which was under British rule at the time.

3. The book is full of slang, pigeon (pidgin), and many different languages and dialects that are all mixed into the text. Rather than spending a lot of time trying to sort through that, it's better to plough through it all because much of it isn't very important. It has it's own rhythm and authenticity, but I actually feel that it was a bit showy and even a little lazy. I remember one page early on in the book that had maybe twenty different Indian words for different foods, clothing and other non English words and I thought, how ridiculous. Is this written primarily for those few people who speak both languages and know the historical usages of these words? Oh you're such a scholar, Ghosh. I think an excellent addition to the book would be footmarks that clearly outline the usage of these words. He started doing that with the "Chrestomathy" in the the back of the book but I found it fairly unhelpful unless I were to make a real study out of it like he did.

4. Although there is a lot of fairly graphic sex, violence and R rated material, it doesn't come across as X rated. It is couched in kind of a conservative and even naive approach to the activities that are going on. It seems to me that Ghosh's Indian roots and background come out more here, especially in the way he portrays sex and relationships, than in some of the obvious ways such as his phrasing and use of certain words, etc. His English is just excellent. But the almost scholarly and then practiced talk about crude things going on seems embarrassing to him but necessary to include to make it all appropriately told. I had to read a couple of pages twice or three times to make sure he is telling us that one of the main characters is gay (although don't think of modern day gay, think more of a twisted, uneducated creep who has never known what a male/female relationship is and is satisfied and trained to like whatever sex is between men in prison or on long voyages at sea). I would be interested to get a gay man's take on this.

I have a lot of other thoughts that would be fun to discuss with someone who has recently read the book. Much of my judgments are held until I read the next two books. This could end out to be one of the top historical fiction series ever written. Or not.

I think the rave reviews are deserved and that this book is a huge accomplishment. I'm looking forward to reading book two. I've searched the internet for updates on the second book. If you have one, please let me know. I wish it were available now.

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Dec 07, 2010

Praj rated it

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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

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Sep 22, 2010

Jamie rated it

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Shelves: first-reads

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...more

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Dec 27, 2009

Secnud rated it

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Shelves: owned

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...more

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Jul 15, 2010

Mady rated it

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Recommends it for: Alexandra, Tania, Hirondelle

Shelves: mine, 2010

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

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Mar 08, 2010

Vicki rated it

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Recommends it for: history lovers, adventure lovers

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.

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Sep 18, 2008

Sonya rated it

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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 ...more

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Aug 10, 2010

Paul rated it

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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...more

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Dec 21, 2008

Jason rated it

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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 "...more

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Feb 03, 2009

Saralyn rated it

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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...more

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Dec 22, 2008

Eva Mitnick 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 ...moreSet 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 woman who brought her up, and many many more characters. They all end up on the Ibis, a ship heading for the Mauritius Island. Some characters are sailors, others are indentured laborers, and all of them seemed to be drawn on to the ship by fate.

Most of these folks, especially the Indians who end up in the stinking hold of the Ibis as indentured workers, have been yanked from all they knew and loved - they have been separated from wives, husbands, parents, and children. Horrible things happen to many characters as their lives are turned upside down. However, Ghosh isn't so cruel as to hit his characters with anything they can't handle. The true joy in this book - apart from the flowing writing, Dickensian characters, and jaw-dropping dialogue (the man is a genius with the way folks talk, especially the mixture of languages found in India and onboard ship - I'd love to hear an audiobook version of this) - is the way all the characters learn that they are in fact NOT powerless, but rather have strengths that allow them to take charge of their own fates, if only in a very small way.

It's a message of hope and even joy, and it lifts this book far out of the morass of misery that could have bogged down a lesser writer. The end of this book is rather a cliff-hanger, but it's such a hopeful one that I can't wait to read the next two books in this trilogy.

By the way, this was shortlisted for the Booker (which was won by The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga - another Indian writer).(less)

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Feb 09, 2012

Joanne rated it

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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

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Feb 06, 2012

Mona rated it

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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...more

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Jan 14, 2012

Andy Millen rated it

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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

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Dec 08, 2011

Cmorice rated it

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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...moreEn 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 extraordinaire saga indienne. Parti de Baltimore, aux États-Unis, il rejoint Calcutta pour embarquer une cargaison de coolies attendue à l'île Maurice. Parmi eux Deeti, une paysanne ruinée par le commerce de l'opium tenu par les Anglais et qui accule les paysans indiens à la misère ; Kuala, son amoureux, qui l'a sauvée du bûcher funéraire sur lequel elle avait décidé de mourir ; Paulette Lambert, une jeune Française qui se fait passer pour indienne afin d'échapper au mariage sordide auquel l'a condamnée son tuteur ; enfin Jodu, son frère de lait, un jeune Indien, qui s'est engagé comme mousse sur l'Ibis, mais ignore la présence de Paulette parmi les coolies, à l'instar de Zachary Reid, le commandant en second, un Noir qui a tout l'air d'un Blanc et qui risquerait sa carrière si cela venait à se savoir. Dans les flancs de l'Ibis sont également enfermés deux prisonniers condamnés à l'exil : Neel Rattan, un raja trahi par son créditeur anglais, et Ah Fatt, un métis de Chinois et d'Indien, opiomane. Sur le pont, Baboo Nob Kissin est chargé de la surveillance générale. Convaincu que sa sainte tante, qu'il a aimée par-dessus tout, va se réincarner en lui, il se laisse envahir par la pitié et vient en aide aux prisonniers.
Tous ces individus aux parcours et aux caractères si dissemblables, seront unis par le périple, un voyage au cours duquel chacun tentera de faire basculer son destin. Il leur faudra pour cela survivre à la rage de l'océan Indien, aux privations, aux maladies, aux révoltes et affronter la cruauté extrême du commandant en second et de son âme damnée. (less)

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Nov 17, 2011

Yvonne rated it

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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 ...moreIk 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 tumultueuze reis over de Indische Oceaan te maken. In een tijd waarin een grimmig conflict later de Eerste Opiumoorlog zou worden (1839-1842) moet het een groep contractarbeiders naar de koloniën brengen. Bemanning en passagiers zijn een bont gezelschap van zeevaarders, verstekelingen, koelies en gevangenen.
Ghosh brengt op dit schip het lot van een groep mensen uit India en het Westen samen: van de berooide Indiase vorst Neel tot de bevrijde Amerikaanse slaaf Zachary. Van de gevluchte, jonge Indiase vrouw Deeti tot de felle Paulette van Mauritius en Doku, de zoetwatervaarjongen.

In het begin moet je even wat tijd uittrekken om grip te krijgen op het boek. Er gebeurt nogal wat met taal. Ik heb het in het Nederlands gelezen, want cadeau gekregen, maar ik vermoed zomaar dat Joop van Helmond een hele klus heeft gehad aan de vertaling. De bemanning van het schip, de handelaren, de scheepseigenaren en zelfs het felle madammeke komen allemaal uit andere stukjes van de wereld waar ze een andere taal spreken. Rondom de Ibis komen de mensen en dus de talen allemaal bij elkaar. En bij gebrek aan de LOI talencursussen bolderde dat allemaal door elkaar. Dat heeft Ghosh weergegeven en daar moest Van Helmond oplossingen voor zoeken.

En dat leidt tot dit soort passages:
"Toen men het lichaam de zee in liet glijden, was Zachary degene die uit de Bijbel las. Hij deed dat met een stem die welluidend genoeg was om er van Serang Ali (bootsman, yp) een compliment voor te krijgen: 'Malum Zikri nummer één kerel goden-pidgin. Waarom geen kerklied zingen?'
'Kan ik niet,' zei Zachary. 'Heb nooit kunnen zingen.'
'Geefnie,' zei Serang Ali. 'Heb zing-kerel.'Hij wenkte een lange, spichtige scheepsjongen die Rajoo heette. 'Deze launda is vroeger missie-jongen. Goden-man heb hem saam geleerd.'
'Psalm?' zei Zachary verbaasd. 'Welke?'
Bij wijze van antwoord begon de jongen te zingen. '"Waarom woeden de heidenen...?"'
Voor het geval Zachary de betekenis ervan zou ontgaan, verschafte de serang welwillend een vertaling. 'Dat betekent,'fluisterde hij Zachary in zijn oor, 'waarvoor maak heiden-kerel zo veel amok? Heb geen meer woorden?'
Zachary zuchtte: 'Denk dat daarmee alles wel zo'n beetje gezegd is.'

't Is even wennen in het begin, dit taaltje, maar op het laatst weet je niet beter. Dan blijkt ook weer dat je niet alle woorden hoeft te begrijpen om te begrijpen wat er aan de hand is. En zo zullen de mensen indertijd ook wel met de woorden om hen heen zijn omgegaan.

Het is een heerlijk boek. Een onverwachte pageturner met zoveel mens erin! Trakteer jezelf op een paar dagen lezen zoals je vroeger deed en laat je meeslepen met deze historische avonturenroman.
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Aug 13, 2011

Gina rated it

· review of another edition

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

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Aug 04, 2011

Sundarraj Kaushik rated it

· review of another edition

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...moreA 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 starts. Deeti a simple villager whose village is one of the villages where poppy is grown. There is also a factory where the seeds are processed into a form in which they can be sold. She is forced to marry an old man addicted to hashish and is an incapable lout. She is impregnated by her brother in law in a state of stupor of the hashish smoke which she is forced to inhale and she bears a girl. This section gives a very good description of the times as it was in those days.

When her husband eventually dies her in-laws try to burn her as a sati along with her husband, but she manages to escape with the help of an untouchable. They board a boat going to Calcutta carrying a shipment of indentured labourers bound to Mauritius.

The second story is the story of Raja of Rungpur, near Calcutta who depends on an English merchant and gets cheated out of his money. He is imprisoned for having cheated the merchant and is put along with another criminal of Chinese origin to be shipped to Mauritius. This section has a nice descriptions of the life led by the English men and the Rajas of those days. It also brings to light the blind respect that people had for Rajas and Maharajas.

The third story is tied to the second as the English merchant takes under his care a french girl brought up by an Indian dai (maid-servant) after she is orphaned by her father's death. The mother had died much before it. Her father is a botanist and she loves nature and loves living with it. But at the Englishman's house she finds her freedom restricted and longs to run away. She runs away dressed as a male in the same ship as the others in the story. She is close to the Dai's son who is like a brother to her. This brother also manages to get into the ship to run away from the penury he is facing at home.

The rest of the book is about how the journey progresses. In the meantime Ditee gets pregnant. She is spotted by a villager from her village who tries to take advantage of her and outrage her modesty. The untouchable who is now her husband comes to her rescue and in the process he is caught and is to be punished by death.

They encounter a cyclone in the Bay of Bengal and in the process the Untouchable, the Dai's son, the two "criminals" escape. They take a boat and ride into the cyclone and they are persumed to be dead.

The book ends here.

The description of the places and events evoke a vivid imagery in the reader's mind and Amitav Ghosh has created a masterpiece.

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Jul 29, 2011

Lori Crossley added it · review of another edition

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...more

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Jul 29, 2011

Catherine Woodman added it · review of another edition

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...more

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Jul 18, 2011

Steven Buechler rated it

· review of another edition

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...moreA 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 lead was a flotilla of pulwars - single-masted boats, equipped with oars as well as sails, These quick-moving craft were ranging ahead of the main body of the fleet, clearing the waterways of other traffic, scouting the navigable channels, and marking the many shoals and sandbars that lurked just beneath the water's surface. Behind them, advancing under full sail, were some twenty patelis. Double-masted and square-rigged, these were the largest bessels on the river, not much smaller than ocean-going ships, and they carried a full complement of canvas on each mast, both dols being hung with three sails - bara, gavi and sabar.
Deeti and Kalua knew at a glance where the ships were coming from and where they were going: this was the fleet of the Ghazipur Opium Factory, carrying the season's produce to Calcutta, for the auction. The fleet was accompanied by a sizeable contingent of armed guards, burkundases and peons, most of whom were distributed among the smaller pulwar boats. The large vessels were still a good hour away when some half-dozen pulwars pulled in. Squads of guards jumped ashore, wielding lathis and spears, and set about clearing the ghats of people, securing them for the docking of the staely patelis.
The opium fleet was commanded by two Englishmen, both junior assistants from the Ghazipur Carcanna. By tradition, the senior of the two occupied the pateli that headed the fleet while the other sailed in the ship that brought up the rear. These two vessels were the largest in the fleet and they took the places of honour at the shore. The ghats at Chhapra were not of a size to accommodate many large vessels at one time and the other patelis had to drop anchor at midstream.
Despite the line of guards around the ghat, a crowd soon assembled to gape at the fleet, their attention being drawn particularly to the two largest patelis. Even by daylight, these vessels presented a handsome sight - and after nightfall, when their lamps were lit they looked so spectacular that few of the townsfolk could resist taking a dekho. From time to time, prodded by lathis and spears, the crowd would be forced to part, clearing a path for those of the local zemindars and notabitlies who wished ot offer their salams to the two young assistants. Some were sent away without being granted and audience, but a few were accorded a brief reception, on board: one or the other Englishmen would come on deck for a few minutes, to acknowledge the proffered obeisances. At each such appearance, the crowd pressed forward to get a closer look at the white men, in their jackets and trowsers, their tall black hats and white cravats.
As the night wore on, the crowd thinned and those of the spectators who remained were able to press a little closer to the stately patelis - Deeti and Kalua among them. The night was hot and the windows in the patelis' staterooms were left open to invite in the breeze. These openings provided occasional glimpses to the two young assistants, as they sat down to their meal - not on the floor it was observed, but at a table that was brilliantly illuminated with candles. Transfixed with curiosity, the transients of the waterfront kept watch as the two men were served their food by a team of more than a dozen khidmutgars and khalasis."(less)

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About Amitav Ghosh

Amitav Ghosh is one of India's best-known writers. His books include The Circle of Reason, The Shadow Lines, In An Antique Land, Dancing in Cambodia, The Calcutta Chromosome, The Glass Palace, Incendiary Circumstances, The Hungry Tide. His most recent novel, Sea of Poppies, is the first volume of the Ibis Trilogy.

Amitav Ghosh was born in Calcutta in 1956. He studied in Dehra Dun, New D...more

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The Calcutta Chromosome: A Novel of Fevers, Delirium & Discovery

In an Antique Land: History in the Guise of a Traveler's Tale

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