Amitav Ghosh: Sea of Poppies (April 2025)

Sea of Poppies is initially set in the opium poppy growing region of India in 1837 just before the Opium Wars between Britain and China.

This is the first of a trilogy and we are introduced to the diverse characters who eventually set on a sea voyage on the Ibis bound for Mauritius, some as crew or passengers and others are indentured labourers or transported prisoners sent to work on plantations.

It is always rewarding to read a well researched historical novel, though no surprise to discover the exploitation of people forced to give up their land to growing poppies as a cash crop for the British to the exclusion of planting food to eat.

The huge opium factory with its hellish working conditions was vividly described and the corrosive affects of addiction in China as a result of the opium that the British foisted upon them.

The characters in the book would normally have their lives set out for them according to caste, class, colour or race but they all undergo unexpected changes and some of us would be interested in reading the next two books in the series even though we all found the book overlong.

Another problem we had was difficulty with the language. The combination of personal eccentricities and living in various faraway lands for many years led to very idiosyncratic speech patterns which were so hard to follow that they became tiresome.

When a book is part of a trilogy or series it is usual for each book to be one that could be read as a standalone novel but Sea of Poppies ended on a cliffhanger which was exasperating for those who struggled through it with no intention of following up with the rest of the trilogy.

We gave Sea of Poppies 2.5/5