Perhaps for the first time in my life I managed to read a book that eventually made it to the short list of a famous literary prize. Last week when the short list of this year’s Booker prize was announced I wasn’t surprised to find Amitav Ghosh’s ‘Sea of Poppies’ in it. It’s the first time I had read a book from such a list. Otherwise I would scamper to find the books after the list was announced.
Since I haven’t read the other books in the Booker short list I really cannot say if SOP has a chance of winning the Booker, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Amitav Ghosh wins it.
Though I finished reading the book more than a fortnight ago almost all the characters are still alive in my mind- Deeti, Kalua, Neel, Jodu, Zikri Malum, Serang Ali and others. The story is fresh in my mind and I guess one thing that puts a good book apart from others is for how long the story or the characters stay in your memory. The first of a trilogy, ‘Sea of Poppies’ gives the back ground of the cast of people who will eventually land up in Mauritius as indentured labor. It is a fine introduction to the personal histories of all those getting into the boat- Ibis- that makes it way towards Mauritius.
The book ends up at an intriguing point and makes the reader want to know what happens next. One has to wait for the second book of the trilogy to know more. I hope the second book of the trilogy comes out soon. I too am waiting to know what happens to Kalua who kills a person aboard the ship. It is a perfectly written book with wonderful descriptions of characters and events. The character I am most interested in knowing the fate of is Neel, the Zamindar who is convicted of forgery.
But I wonder if anyone noticed this typo I found in Chapter 5 on page 90:
'Like the great medieval forts that overlooked the Ganga, the factory was so situated as to h ave easy access to the river while being high enough to escape seasonal foods.'
I guess it should have been 'floods' instead of what is printed.
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