First of all, let me tell you that am happy that "Sea of Poppies" has been nominated for this year's Bookers prize :). It really is splendid literature. I was/am bitten with the Booker's bug post that novel, and hence I decided to read "Midnight's Children" by Salman Rushdie. If you don't know this, this novel has been bestowed with the "Booker of Bookers" Prize - so I had/have high expectations.
I am 30% through and initially I found the language and the narration difficult to follow. The language and the continuity seemed unnatural to me and I was almost on the verge of abandoning reading it. But then the children of Midnight have been finally revealed and my interest has been sufficiently piqued. Hopefully when I am done with it, I might find resonance with those who voted it best of the best. So expect me to be a children of the midnight hour, pouring over printed words everyonce in a while... :)
Showing posts with label sea of poppies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sea of poppies. Show all posts
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Monday, August 11, 2008
Sea of Poppies
I don't buy books. And if I buy, they are invariably from the street side with a lotta haggling and all. But Pi had a gift voucher of Crossword bookstore, so we had to buy something.
I thank my stars that I bought "Sea of Poppies" by Amitav Ghosh. I am done with it and its turned out to be a great, great read. Amitav Ghosh took about 4 years to write this one and this is part of the Ibis Trilogy. Ibis is the ship in this trilogy around which a host of colorful characters revolve. Along with the rich plot, its also a telling account of how the British sucked the lifeblood out of many a Indians via the very profitable Opium trade in the early 1820s, before the 2 Opium wars with China.
Another very interesting thing, is the language used. Its a nice mixture of English and Hindusthani languages prevalent then. So I guess this Hinglish culture is nothing new :)
Recommended reading for one and all! I am already looking forward to the remaining of the 2 books, dont know when they will come out yet though considering that this one is just out this year.
Check out the website of this trilogy for more information about the characters and the fascinating language too! It's good to have a master Indian English storyteller like Amitav!
I thank my stars that I bought "Sea of Poppies" by Amitav Ghosh. I am done with it and its turned out to be a great, great read. Amitav Ghosh took about 4 years to write this one and this is part of the Ibis Trilogy. Ibis is the ship in this trilogy around which a host of colorful characters revolve. Along with the rich plot, its also a telling account of how the British sucked the lifeblood out of many a Indians via the very profitable Opium trade in the early 1820s, before the 2 Opium wars with China.
Another very interesting thing, is the language used. Its a nice mixture of English and Hindusthani languages prevalent then. So I guess this Hinglish culture is nothing new :)
Recommended reading for one and all! I am already looking forward to the remaining of the 2 books, dont know when they will come out yet though considering that this one is just out this year.
Check out the website of this trilogy for more information about the characters and the fascinating language too! It's good to have a master Indian English storyteller like Amitav!
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