Sea of Poppies cover art

Sea of Poppies

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About this listen

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.

©2008 Amitav Ghosh (P)2009 Isis Publishing Ltd Fantasy Historical Fiction Destiny Sailing
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Excellent narrative that had me gripped till the very end. Looking forward to the next one by the author

Beautiful story beautifully told

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I endorse 100% with the previous reviewer! Looking forward to listening to the sequel: The River of Smoke.

Loved this book…

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I thought this excellent tale was well read (if a little fast - 0.9 speed sorted that out). Have dived right into part 2!

Epic tale

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A wonderful story full of imagery of time and place. And the narrator's voice and pronunciation of some difficult foreign words brings the story alive.

I could listen too his voice forever and am disappointed to see he isn't the narrator for the next two novels in the trilogy.

Brilliant storyteller

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I nearly gave up on this part way through but I am now glad I saw it through to the end. I'm considering getting the second too. The narrator was fantastic.......Actually having listened to the sample and reading the reviews I won't be getting book 2.

Enjoyed it more than I thought I would

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