BOOK CORNER

Sea Of Poppies

By Amitav Ghosh

In Sea of Poppies, Amitav Ghosh spins an amazing story, set in 1838 India, that explores the lives of a polyglot of peoples whose lives and interests collide over the growth of opium poppies bound for China. American sailor Zachary Reid is a noble soul ensnared in an ignoble business. Deeti is an addict's wife destined to a life of misery. Paulette is a French scientist's daughter taken in by a business tycoon. Other characters and settings round out this complex and intriguing tale: a foul-tempered British river pilot, and impoverished raja, heavily guarded opium factories, embattled farmers, pidgin-spewing boat crews, a vicious first mate and lovers on the run. Sea of Poppies uncovers the mix of racism, greed, cast-consciousness, superstition and hypocrisy that combined when enormous fortunes were at stake. It also shows the resourcefulness of people courageously attempting to escape the hand that fate has dealt them.

The book's language is fascinating. Ghosh has captured the varied accents of the 19th century American, British and Lascar sailors, the vulgar bellowing of the colonizers and the refined tones of the aristocracy. The story is heavily peppered with Hindustani words that make sense in context. The effect is of a culture mongrelization that is as intoxicating as it is perplexing. The light that Ghosh throws on the dirty story of the British opium trade shows just how much civilized "Christian" Victorian England was dependent on the exploitation of not one but two Asian societies.

A great rollicking read, stormy as a ship's ride on the Indian Ocean.

Review by Jean E. Pouliot