Sea of Poppies

By: Amitav Gosh 4/5

A little confused. This is how I feel after finishing the last sentence of the last page of the last chapter. Did I miss something? Though like I always, I realized after I completed the book that there was a glossary for all the words that I didn’t know.

Sea of Poppies is a lot of little stories and backgrounds of characters that come together in the very end, on the mystical journey on the Ibis a grand ship sailing from Calcutta, India to the Muarice Islands.  This book takes you on a journey of a lexicon of words I had never heard of before. Fantastic. It also bears to mention that this is the first of a trilogy so therefore that might have a reason for the ending the way that it did.

This is the story of Paulette, une petite coquette fille; Deeti the housewife that finds love with a coolie; of Jodu the boy that matures and finds love; Neel the educated Zemindar who has been over thrown by the powerful Benjamin Burnham. This book takes place around 1830s, when India was still under British rule, where Opium was the daily life of everyone and the only source of living. Though with China closing off the boarders of opium trade, the new import from India were slaves.

The Ibis turned into a ship for indentured servants. This is where the characters find themselves intertwined. It is certainly the story of loss, in each and every one of the Characters, Jodu, Paulette, Kalua, Neel, Zachary, Mr. Crowle; and everyone else on that ship. It shows how much a person can stand, how much can one endure and how life, even limited, can find a sliver of happiness.

I am looking forward to reading the rest of the books which the next one comes out at the end of 2010!

Possible Spoiler

Possible Spoiler

Possible Spoiler

Possible Spoiler

Possible Spoiler

The things I don’t understand are Baboo, he is a hijrah, what is his ultimate goal in life? And what is the thing that I missed about the eyes?!?!