Ghosh!

     When I mentioned Sea of Poppies briefly the other day I said that it read as though Amitav Ghosh had great fun writing it, and that impression was borne out by the book's mood as I went on. It's a remarkably rich and entertaining read, which transported me to India in 1838, and then took me to sea on the schooner The Ibis with its crew of multi-racial lascars and its complement of indentured migrants and convicts, and it has a spirit of adventure about it, a revelling in the telling of a good tale and above all a consummate skill in the use of language.

   I am so glad to know that it is the first part of a trilogy, and I want to read more of Amitav Ghosh's work (The Glass Palace for instance) because this example so impressed me. Reviewers have quibbled with his "incomprehensible" vocabulary and requested a glossary, and they've said that the story is slow in building and the ending too abrupt. I wouldn't agree with those criticisms - if you love language for its own sake, its richness, its derivative 'kinship', you'll love his use of it here and the sense of his words is usually apparent though the precise meaning may be more obscure. As to pace, he rightly takes his time to introduce his characters and set the scene and  - bearing in mind the scope of the book - he does this with much welcome detail, humour and empathy. The ending is a dramatic climax and will no doubt provide the opening for the next book in the series. It too is 'right'. I loved Sea of Poppies and it's already on my Books of the Year list.

Comments

[Simon S]

I must put this higher on my TBR, its just so heavy and big lol! I have to say that I like it when writers play with words and take you in and out of fantastic vocabulary even if some of it is made up thats the magic.

[claire]

I'm currently reading this and loving it, too! So glad you loved it. I found your blog through Frances of Nonsuch Book. I'm finding so many good books here.. wow! :)

[Cornflower]

Excellent!