Book Review: The Sea of Poppies.

Name: Sea of Poppies.

Author: Amitav Ghosh.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Before going in for my review of the book, allow me to indulge in the fact that this book is legendary. Published in 2008, it was shortlisted for the Man Booker prize 2008. This book is the first in the 'Ibis Trilogy' and it most certainly deserves this honour that it garnered.

A rather unique thing about this book is that it does not boast a single protagonist; rather the book revolves around the lives of many people, which seem completely unrelated at the beginning but are unwittingly entangled as is evident from the later part of the book. A widowed poppy farmer who is a social pariah, a Raja who is fabricated for a crime, a French girl true to her Indian upbringing, an American Sailor for whom sea is the only world he has known and a merchant seeking spiritual enlightenment; Imagine these lives intricately entangled and that is the sea of poppies for you.

The portrayal of human lives and emotions is most spectacular. The lives have been so artistically depicted that you almost feel as if you are living them. Such is the glory of this book. Also, there is something very beautifully poignant about the book.

The book is set in the British ruled India and therefore is replete with anglicized Indian words. They are most intriguing but might become tedious at times. Also, the broken or 'Hindicized' English that some of the character have been shown to speak was almost incomprehensible for me at times.

But the sea of poppies indeed makes one heck of a fantastic read and is a must read for all.