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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
Deel twee. Het begint ruim na waar deel 1 eindigde, waarna het vervolgens vrij abrupt een heel andere kant op lijkt te gaan. De hoofdpersonen uit deel 1 zijn in dit boek grotendeels randpersonages of komen helemaal niet voor. De focus ligt nu veel meer op de opiumhandel tussen Engeland/India en China en de buitenlandse enclave in Canton.
Meer tegen het einde van het boek komen de twee boeken weer langzaam een beetje naar elkaar, maar ik vermoed (hoop?) dat deel drie uiteindelijk alles beter aan elkaar gaat knopen.
Waar in deel 1 er een hoop Indiaas door het Engels liep, is dit het boek om je Chinees/Engels pidgin op te halen :-)
Fijn boek.
Meer tegen het einde van het boek komen de twee boeken weer langzaam een beetje naar elkaar, maar ik vermoed (hoop?) dat deel drie uiteindelijk alles beter aan elkaar gaat knopen.
Waar in deel 1 er een hoop Indiaas door het Engels liep, is dit het boek om je Chinees/Engels pidgin op te halen :-)
Fijn boek.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
After finishing Sea of Poppies earlier this week and then proceeding to consume River of Smoke in just three days immediately afterward, I almost feel a sense of remorse for devouring two-thirds of Amitav Ghosh's Ibis trilogy so greedily and quickly, leaving only one book left. But I simply cannot help myself. His characters are just so numerous yet so individually complex, and it's been so long since I have had the pleasure of reading an author who can make their settings come alive in my mind as Ghosh can, whether it's the Canton Factories ripe with pre-Opium War tension or the many islands all around the mouth of the Pearl River. To me, it just feels like historical fiction at its finest. So that being said, looks like it's now time for me to move onwards and tackle the third and final book of the series with more gusto than I ever honestly would have able to foresee.
What a steaming hunk of crap. This is total airport bookstore fare. OK, I admire the scholarship to get period details right, but you also feel like the author is hell-bent on getting each and every fact he read about in the text. There's a scene when a painter is describing how he'd paint the members of Canton society in the style of major authors... I could almost see the author with a Wikipedia printout of "famous painters & their works", crossing them off one at a time as he wrote. Will definitely never read anything by him again.
I’d like to give this one 3.5 stars. While it was very interesting, I wasn’t as entertained as in Sea of Poppies and at times felt that he was “telling” too much rather than “Showing” since much of it is written in letters from one character to another and felt almost like it was non-fiction in its descriptions of the place and time. I also found one character’s “voice” kind of annoying and stereotyped. All that said, this series is so well researched and vividly told that I felt I was there, and learned heaps about Canton and the opium trade prior to the Opium War. Definitely worth a read if you like historical fiction.
Anyone who read Sea of Poppies would be left a little disappointed, not essentially because River of Smoke is not good, but he would be looking for more on Diti, Ah-Fatt and Kalua
Good, solid historical fiction. This 2nd book in the trilogy continues the story of the approaching "Opium War" and although a bit long winded at times, Ghosh does set the stage and tone of the times quite nicely and the book flies by. Solid effort - 4 stars
The second book of Amitav Ghosh’s Ibis Trilogy, River of Smoke follows Ah Fett, Neel and Paulette into the hongs of Canton and the hills of Hong Kong. The Emperor is trying to ban opium imports and the small enclave of Canton feels the noose about it’s neck as the merchants square up to a nations ruler in the name of free trade (oh, and vast profits).
River of Smoke is hugely enjoyable, for me, much more enjoyable than Sea of Poppies, the first book. In that the language was baffling and incomprehensible and although it’s still the latter, it was less baffling, even with the introduction of the pidgin used in Canton between the Chinese and the traders. But it was necessary, to introduce the characters, to push the narrative out into the river, so it could be swept by the current, and that’s exactly what happens in River of Smoke.
George Chinnery, on the other hand, had earned fabulous sums of money while in Calcutta and his household was as Chuck-muck as any in the city, with Paltans of nokar-logue doing Chukkers in the hallways and syces swimming in the istabuls, as for the bobachee-connah, why, it had been known to spend a hundred sicca rupees on sherberts and syllabubs in one week.
The main character in the narrative is arguably Bahram, the father of Ah Fett. An opium trader who allows us to view the inner workings of Canton’s traders and committees. His generous heart, he takes on Neel as his munshi at the request of Ah Fett, is at odds with his business head as he sails with one last shipment.
Meanwhile Paulette meets Fitcher Penrose, a nursery owner from England with whom she sails on the Redruth to Hong Kong as he goes in search of an extremely rare flower. En route they enlist the help of an old childhood friend of Paulette’s, Robin Chinnery. The painter sails to Canton, and as Paulette is unable to go as no women are admitted, he writes letters to her relaying the goings on in the enclave and his search for the flower on Fitchers behalf.
The breadth and depth of Ghosh’s research is incredible. Canton is painted in bold and detailed strokes in his narrative, a bustling hive of commerce, where the men of industry have tiffin, attend the club for dinner, and make their own entertainment, such as waltzing with each other. But like Nero playing the fiddle while Rome burns, the traders all refuse to Kow-Tow to the Emperors demands to cease trading. They refuse to believe the severity of the situation, all the while blustering about free trade until Commissioner Lin is sent to end the smuggling once and for all. The tension slowly builds as rumours fly regarding the Commissioner, followed by proclomations and edicts from the Mandarins, until Lin arrives and acts decisively.
Bits and pieces are leaked through Robin Chinnery’s letters and slowly the story of Neel and Paulette intertwines, one watching from the hills of Hong Kong, the other in the eye of the storm.
The prose rolls along at a pitch perfect pace with an epic amount of detail that never bogs it down. The meeting between Bahram, Zadig Bey and Napoleon was a great inclusion and of course the book was not without it’s humour. After the slow start of Sea of Poppies, River of Smoke powers up to full speed, roll on book three!
(blog review here)
River of Smoke is hugely enjoyable, for me, much more enjoyable than Sea of Poppies, the first book. In that the language was baffling and incomprehensible and although it’s still the latter, it was less baffling, even with the introduction of the pidgin used in Canton between the Chinese and the traders. But it was necessary, to introduce the characters, to push the narrative out into the river, so it could be swept by the current, and that’s exactly what happens in River of Smoke.
George Chinnery, on the other hand, had earned fabulous sums of money while in Calcutta and his household was as Chuck-muck as any in the city, with Paltans of nokar-logue doing Chukkers in the hallways and syces swimming in the istabuls, as for the bobachee-connah, why, it had been known to spend a hundred sicca rupees on sherberts and syllabubs in one week.
The main character in the narrative is arguably Bahram, the father of Ah Fett. An opium trader who allows us to view the inner workings of Canton’s traders and committees. His generous heart, he takes on Neel as his munshi at the request of Ah Fett, is at odds with his business head as he sails with one last shipment.
Meanwhile Paulette meets Fitcher Penrose, a nursery owner from England with whom she sails on the Redruth to Hong Kong as he goes in search of an extremely rare flower. En route they enlist the help of an old childhood friend of Paulette’s, Robin Chinnery. The painter sails to Canton, and as Paulette is unable to go as no women are admitted, he writes letters to her relaying the goings on in the enclave and his search for the flower on Fitchers behalf.
The breadth and depth of Ghosh’s research is incredible. Canton is painted in bold and detailed strokes in his narrative, a bustling hive of commerce, where the men of industry have tiffin, attend the club for dinner, and make their own entertainment, such as waltzing with each other. But like Nero playing the fiddle while Rome burns, the traders all refuse to Kow-Tow to the Emperors demands to cease trading. They refuse to believe the severity of the situation, all the while blustering about free trade until Commissioner Lin is sent to end the smuggling once and for all. The tension slowly builds as rumours fly regarding the Commissioner, followed by proclomations and edicts from the Mandarins, until Lin arrives and acts decisively.
Bits and pieces are leaked through Robin Chinnery’s letters and slowly the story of Neel and Paulette intertwines, one watching from the hills of Hong Kong, the other in the eye of the storm.
The prose rolls along at a pitch perfect pace with an epic amount of detail that never bogs it down. The meeting between Bahram, Zadig Bey and Napoleon was a great inclusion and of course the book was not without it’s humour. After the slow start of Sea of Poppies, River of Smoke powers up to full speed, roll on book three!
(blog review here)
Profoundly disappointing after the pleasure of Sea of Poppies. Very light on plot and character, very heavy on filler, waffle, and padding.