Sea of Poppies is the first book in the Ibis Trilogy by Amitav Ghosh and introduces us to a large and diverse cast of memorable characters who are thrown together on a voyage from India to Mauritius aboard a former slaving ship, the Ibis. Set in the 1830s just before the First Opium War, this is a long, detailed novel (and also quite a challenging one due to the various styles of dialogue and language Ghosh uses) but once I became familiar with the characters and their stories I found myself enjoying it more and more.
Each of the novel’s main characters comes from a different background and a different set of circumstances has led to each one being on board the Ibis, whether as a migrant, a prisoner or a member of the crew. Inevitably I found some of the characters more interesting than others; I was particularly intrigued by Neel Rattan Halder, the Raja of Raskhali, who is arrested for forgery and dispossessed of his lands, by Deeti, widowed after her husband succumbs to his opium addiction, and by Paulette Lambert, the orphaned daughter of a French botanist. These three people and many others are brought into the story one by one, but eventually their paths meet as the Ibis prepares to set sail for Mauritius.
I’m not really a big fan of novels set on ships (Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey-Maturin series is one of the few exceptions) so I was pleased to find that there are plenty of land-based sections in this one too. The descriptions of India are colourful and vivid throughout the novel, but the scene that sticks most in my mind is one from the beginning of the book which describes Deeti’s visit to the opium factory where her husband works. The author doesn’t shy away from showing us the horrors of opium addiction and withdrawal, as well as the health problems suffered by those who had to work with the drug and the trouble caused by so much land having to be devoted to poppy growth rather than other crops which could be eaten as food.
I’ve already mentioned that Amitav Ghosh uses language in some unusual ways in this novel, so I’ll try to explain what I mean. As well as Bengali and Hindi words being scattered throughout the pages, the Indian sailors (known as Lascars) have their own terminology, one of them (Serang Ali) speaks a form of pidgin English to communicate with the American second mate, Zachary Reid, while the European characters also draw on a stock of words and slang terms taken from various different languages. As you can imagine, when characters from different cultures are speaking to each other, things often become very complicated! A glossary would have made reading this book a lot easier, but unfortunately there wasn’t one (at least not in the edition that I read) so I just had to struggle along and console myself with the knowledge that sometimes the characters in the book were just as confused as I was!
Sea of Poppies was a fascinating read, but I was left with the feeling that it wasn’t a complete novel in itself – it finishes on a cliffhanger and with so many loose ends that reading the second book in the trilogy really is essential if you want to know what happens to the characters you’ve come to know and care about. I started River of Smoke immediately after finishing this one!
She Reads Novels 
Several years ago I read a few Amitov Ghosh novels and enjoyed them, I hadn’t been sure if I wanted to read this one, but you make it sound very appealing.
This is the only book I’ve read by Amitav Ghosh so far but I’ll probably go back and try some of his earlier ones after I’ve finished this trilogy.
I’d not heard of this author before. The mix of characters and the setting is unusual. This trilogy has piqued by interest and is definitely heading for my TBR pile. Thank you for the review, Helen
Yes, it’s a great mix of characters – so many different cultures and backgrounds. I’m glad you’re going to add this to your TBR!
I have this on the TBR shelves. Hmmm, it sounds like I should have the second book ready as well 🙂
Yes, I think so! I enjoyed this one but it did only feel like half a story.
I haven’t read this book as I heard the books aren’t standalone, and I am not sure I want to commit to such a long trilogy.
I can understand that – these are very long books, so it’s a big commitment.
Do you think this would work in audiobook? I’m tempted by the version read by Kish Sharma.
I’m sure it would work very well as an audiobook – with all the different languages and accents it should be fascinating to listen to.
My friend has been on me to read this series, and I definitely have plans to! I am glad you enjoyed this one, but I will keep note on the cliffhanger ending – those can be so frustrating if you don’t have the sequel ready!
I would love to know what you think of this book when you get round to reading it. And yes, it’s definitely a good idea to have the second book ready for when you finish this one!
I thought Ghosh’s use of language in this book was brilliant, unfortunately i just couldn’t get through it. I’m not much for sea faring novels or historical fiction and it all just became too much for me and I didn’t finish the book. Odd, because I’ve loved Ghosh’s other books.
Sorry you weren’t able to finish this book. I didn’t like the seafaring aspects either but I love historical fiction, so that helped!
I’ve wondered about this for a while now, and your review makes the book more appealing (except for the part about the sailors all using different bits of languages). I loved The Glass Palace so maybe I should give this a try.
The Glass Palace sounds great and I’m looking forward to reading it after I finish the other two books in this trilogy.
Of course, the first of a trilogy probably isn’t going to feel like a complete novel, but I really liked it when I read it a couple of years ago. The second book, you may be surprised to find, doesn’t continue with all the characters, but with only some of them. I am waiting for the third book to come out, later this year.
I’m about four chapters into the second book now and yes, I was surprised that some of the characters had disappeared! I’m not too disappointed, though, as the characters I was particularly interested in are still there. I hope you enjoy the third book when it comes out.
I’ve been waiting for it for about two years! Maybe some of the characters who disappeared will reappear. Who knows!
Good write-up. I am a fan of Sea of Poppies. I am yet to read the other two books in this trilogy though. Here is what I thought of the book https://goo.gl/JLLD3f
I’m glad to hear you’re a fan of Sea of Poppies too. I thought the second book, River of Smoke, was even better and I’m looking forward to reading the third one in the trilogy.