Summary:
Amitav Ghosh's first from the Trilogy, Sea of poppies deals with the cultivation of poppy seeds in the plains of the Ganges, India and how it was sold across China. It also deals with the British Empire's trade policies then that resulted in countless Chinese people becoming addicted to the drug - Opium. The second one River Of Smoke takes you to Canton, China where the drug trade is on in a full swing. The Chinese authorities try to prevent the inflow of opium as they see countless addicts in the streets doomed for self-destruction.
The story's main protagonist is Bahram, a Parsi trader that who deals with Opium and who hails from Bombay. The story leads Bahram and few other convicts from the ship Ibis following an episode with an Indian Ocean storm to China along with passengers of another ship that happens to be an Opium carrier. It takes you to the murky world of trade between British ruled India and Europe, trade despite the concerns of local Chinese authority. The stories of Bahram Modi and his son gets intertwined with few others as they all vie for freedom and the riches among others, all in the region that has to offer plenty of mystique and wonder.
Review:
Amitav Ghosh's River Of Smoke speaks about the ruthless colonial trade during early 20th century of various goods including Opium and other narcotics among the usual goods, when profits were built on blood. The author's love for attention to detail is felt to the point of bothering your sensibilities as he dives deep in to the colonial period and extracts finest bit of details. The description of how a famous Xinjiang specialty was derived from the Indian Samosa is befitting to description of the extent of his love for detailing. The story can seem to be stuck as it struggles to keep it afloat from drowning into the excess of description of the information.
The portrayal of Bahram is well worth a read as the author sculpts his story with much patience and perseverance. The mood of the rooms filled with 'high-on-opium' troopers is hilarious. The conflict of the addiction inflicted province to free itself is compelling. The rich turned poor Bahram's life accounts include his romantic tryst as well with occasional outbursts in various indigenous languages. Although the reader has to deal with broken bridges in the novel one can still enjoy the experience of reliving the colonial China. The author tries to fit in his research explicitly and can take away the characters. story away from you but can be equally engaging for some on the other hand.
The expression of the colonial tyranny touches the gory truth of the greed driven Empire that stops at nothing and that devours humanity in fragments as it cannot see the damage being blinded by greed. The ostentatious description has the potential to leave you spell bound or restless to free yourself from the book.
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