Sea of Poppies

Sea of Poppies

This book was meant to cover my Reading Resolution to read a book set in a foreign country. A plot surrounding a slave ship being used in the illegal India/Chinese poppy trade sounds intriguing, doesn't it?

I thought so too, until I trudged through 160 pages and then called it quits because I was tired of waiting for the story to start. Every chapter introduced at least three new character, and after 6 chapters of meeting new people, I had a hard time keeping everyone's back stories and motivations straight.

If you enjoy authentic historical fiction, then you will probably enjoy Sea of Poppies. After starting this book I realized that I prefer my historical fiction to be mostly fiction with a touch of history :)

Amitav Ghosh did his homework using authentic "seaman talk" (at least that's what I dubbed it). It's lingo that was so confusing there was a whole chapter at the end of the book just to serve as a dictionary. Normally when foreign language or lingo is incorporated into a novel, you can use context clues to learn the meaning of the word. Not so with this "seaman talk" where whole conversations would go by and I was left thinking, "I hope that wasn't important." While I understand the author's desire to keep the text authentic, when the reader has to flip back and forth from the back of the book to the front of the book just to understand what the dialogue means, it kills the plot flow.

I didn't finish the book, so I don't feel that I have a right to rate it. Other people gave it rave reviews on Goodreads. I suggest you borrow it from the library and see if it's to your reading taste.

Title: Sea of Poppies

Author: Amitav Ghosh

Publisher: Back Bay Books

Published: January 17, 2014

Available: Amazon, Book Depository, and Barnes and Noble