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Sea of Poppies Audiobook
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(3.00) - 7,549 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
At the heart of this vibrant saga is an immense ship, the Ibis. Its destiny is a tumultuous voyage across the Indian Ocean, its purpose to fight China’s vicious nineteenth-century Opium Wars. As for the crew, they are a motley array of sailors and stowaways, coolies and convicts. In a time of colonial upheaval, fate has thrown together a diverse cast of Indians and Westerners, from a bankrupt Raja to a widowed tribeswoman, from a mulatto American freedman to a free-spirited French orphan. 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 embraces the lush poppy fields of the Ganges, the rolling high seas, and the crowded backstreets of Canton. But it is the panorama of characters, whose diaspora encapsulates the vexed colonial history of the East itself, that makes Sea of Poppies so breathtakingly alive – a masterpiece from one of the world’s finest novelists. "Such is the power of Ghosh's precise, understated prose that one occasionally wishes to turn the pages three at a time, eager to find out where Ghosh's tale is headed." - The Boston Globe
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"A great novel from Amitav Ghosh - I couldn't understand half the words - even if English, but that was half the fun. A fun read of how British, Chinese, Malay, Indian cultures came together on this boat set for Mauritius. Part romance, part pirate lawlessness... highly recommended! Just beware, it's the first of a 3 part series, which means we've got a while to wait for part 2, since the first one took him over 5 years to research and write."
— Linda (5 out of 5 stars)
Awards
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A New York Times bestseller
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Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award
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A 2008 San Francisco Chronicle Best Book for Fiction
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A 2008 Economist Best Book for Fiction
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A 2008 Chicago Tribune Book of the Year for Fiction
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A 2008 Washington Post Best Book for Fiction
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A 2008 New York Times Best Book for Fiction
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A 2008 Christian Science Monitor Book of the Year for Fiction
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A 2008 Publishers Weekly Best Book for Fiction
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A 2008 Man Booker Prize Finalist
Sea of Poppies Listener Reviews
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" Would like to read the sequel & then give a review to it..........otherwise can also say that now whenever I look at the Sea I remember the Ibis.......... "
— Tania, 1/30/2014 -
" Brilliant read!! "
— Mehvish, 1/25/2014 -
" A beautiful, engrossing and captive book. The language and charaters are entertaining, the story keeps you guessing, cant wait to read the part 2 - River of Smoke "
— Monica, 1/24/2014 -
" I tried to get past the first half of the book to finally get to sea, where I heard the best part of the book is, but got infinitely landlubbered by deeper-than-the-ocean details about every single character. Do I really want to know the details about some secondary character's third cousin removed or about the pinkie toenail length of one of the far too many main characters? Not really. "
— Stephanie, 1/18/2014 -
" It's a long book and the story doesn't get very far, but the characters are engrossing and it's a compelling read. It makes an unusual place and time come alive. Will definitely keep going in the series. "
— Ari, 1/7/2014 -
" The haunting description of the black waters of the sea opening up in front of the ship with all the main characters in it was goose-bump inducing. Not so much the plot, but the sheer intricate details of the descriptions and the voluminous research on varied aspects of life as it was in that era astound me. Looking forward to reading the second book in the trilogy. "
— Priya, 1/6/2014 -
" This is a good fun read with many insights about racial prejudice. "
— Mariana, 1/5/2014 -
" Loved this book. Good character development and just beautifully written. Can't wait for the sequel. "
— Elspeth, 12/21/2013 -
" Very nice storytelling but also very tough use of words. Overall a nice read "
— Saurav, 12/16/2013 -
" I couldn't finish this book. It was very dense, and a lot of it was written in 19th century Indian English dialect, which was hard to read, and I just couldn't connect to the characters. Rather than slogging through it (and it is a trilogy) I gave up and moved on. "
— Alicia, 12/7/2013 -
" Fascinating, well-written book set in the time before the outbreak of the Opium Wars, India in the 1830's. A historical epic showing the effects on a culture of British Imperialism. I loved it. "
— Laurie, 12/1/2013 -
" smart. lovely. quirky. a new favorite author. "
— Hilariapdx, 11/20/2013 -
" Had a hard time reading this at first - didn't realize that there was a glossary in the back (which would have helped tremendously!) Ended up enjoying it but it ended rather abruptly...... I'm hoping that there will be another book to follow. I'd like to find out what happens to everyone. "
— Karen, 10/30/2013 -
" It was an interesting historical moment, and an OK story. Linguistically fascinating! I can't stop the lascar talk in my head. "
— Anadelle, 10/11/2013 -
" I am still thinking about these characters but the second in the trilogy is even better. I loved this kind of E.M. Forster old fashioned read of clashing cultures. "
— Amelia, 7/31/2013 -
" I really enjoyed the recreation of the period and the accuracy of the history. The story line, hmmmmm.. but I understand there are two more books to come. I will withhold judgment. "
— Robert, 6/14/2013 -
" Amitav Ghosh is into Indian history, as am I. Interesting to see what he does with it. My first reaction: I want to read the original archival materials. Enjoying the Indo-English slang-- dumbcow (dhamkao) etc.--that 19th century sailors et. al. used on and around the subcontinent. "
— Sazuru, 5/29/2013 -
" This book is epic and the writing is amazing! "
— Wiebke, 10/31/2012 -
" Interesting story and beautifully written. I found the vernacular used hard to follow and it made the reading experience less enjoyable that I hoped for. "
— M., 10/22/2012 -
" Took a long time for me to read but thoroughly enjoyed it - though was slightly disappointed by the last 50 pages though I think this is because they were building up to the next book which I can't wait for. "
— Elizabeth, 5/27/2012 -
" I have to wait until 2011 to find out what happens next??? "
— Lesley, 5/7/2012 -
" Not as good as The Glass Palace, but OK. Maybe I should have concentrated on the mixed languages a bit more! "
— Jo, 4/4/2012 -
" Didn't know it was the 1st book of a trilogy--the other 2 haven't been written yet. I hate that... "
— Sara, 5/25/2009 -
" Jolly good. Looking forward to reading the rest of the trilogy. "
— Martinxo, 11/11/2008
About Amitav Ghosh
Amitav Ghosh is the multiaward–winning author of books of fiction and nonfiction. He has won France’s Prix Medici Etranger, India’s prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award, the Arthur C. Clarke Award, and the Pushcart Prize, among others.
About Phil Gigante
Phil Gigante has narrated more than two hundred audiobooks, earning ten AudioFile Earphones Awards and three of the prestigious Audie Awards for best narration. An actor, director, and producer with over twenty years of experience in theater, film, television, and radio, he is currently the artistic director of Gigantic Productions and Little Giant Children’s Theatre.