by Amitav Ghosh (Author)
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. In a time of colonial upheaval, fate has thrown together a truly diverse cast of Indians and Westerners, from a bankrupt Raja to a widowed villager, from an evangelical English opium trader to a mulatto American freedman. 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, and the exotic backstreets of China. But it is the panorama of characters, whose diaspora encapsulates the vexed colonial history of the East itself, which makes Sea of Poppies so breathtakingly alive - a masterpiece from one of the world's finest novelists.
Format: Paperback
Pages: 544
Edition: 1
Publisher: John Murray
Published: 16 Apr 2009
ISBN 10: 0719568978
ISBN 13: 9780719568978
Book Overview: Shortlisted for the Booker Prize 2008: a stunningly vibrant novel from Amitav Ghosh.
Prizes: Winner of Indiaplaza Golden Quill Readers' Choice Award for Fiction 2009 and Indiaplaza Golden Quill Book Award 2009 and British Book Design & Production Award: Literature 2008. Shortlisted for Man Booker Prize for Fiction 2008.