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diya95's review against another edition
3.0
River of Smoke is a tapestry of stories following the lives of people we are familiar with from the first trilogy, but not quite familiar. These are tales spun out of the mists and sprays left behind at the wake of a storm (at the risk of sounding utterly pretentious, but I'm not trying to give too much away?).
The stories may have a simple narrative but can break your heart only in the way Amitav Ghosh can. Having said that the narrative does tend to get loopy at times.
When it comes to the main characters, Amitava Ghosh has an uncanny way of making you decide from very early on, that you don't like one of them (I am referring to Bahram) and then as the story progresses you end up feeling sorry for him, as you watch him suffer at the clutches of Karma, conscience and love- sad..sad combination if you ask me.
An unlikely favorite emerged for me in Charles King. Ghosh will make you hear out every painful argument and perspective on the opium trade ( and you can't help wonder about the trade that goes on today and the wars that are fought today and the many ways in which one may justify Evil). Among all the fanquis, it is Miss King (as he is called) whose motives are lacking any traces of duplicity. Refreshing, but understandably fictional.
If there was one particular aspect about the book that bugged me a lot- was the abrupt halt in the telling of Paulette's story. My mind was ready to hear about Paulette the explorer and her botanical pursuits at Hong Kong. But all the exploring work somehow got relegated to Robin, the painter. Robin's narrative of Canton through the many letters he sends Paulette are beautiful, funny and spunky. I love Robin. I understand his role in the story but I wish it didn't have to be an either Robin or Paulette choice for the author.
Also the way in which the search for the elusive golden camellias reached a crescendo.....was a bit of a downer.
I loved residing in Fanqui Town, the glitz, the food, the craving, the buzz and the promise of a fantastical poetical garden world... but somehow...those promises could have been better kept.
The stories may have a simple narrative but can break your heart only in the way Amitav Ghosh can. Having said that the narrative does tend to get loopy at times.
When it comes to the main characters, Amitava Ghosh has an uncanny way of making you decide from very early on, that you don't like one of them (I am referring to Bahram) and then as the story progresses you end up feeling sorry for him, as you watch him suffer at the clutches of Karma, conscience and love- sad..sad combination if you ask me.
An unlikely favorite emerged for me in Charles King. Ghosh will make you hear out every painful argument and perspective on the opium trade ( and you can't help wonder about the trade that goes on today and the wars that are fought today and the many ways in which one may justify Evil). Among all the fanquis, it is Miss King (as he is called) whose motives are lacking any traces of duplicity. Refreshing, but understandably fictional.
If there was one particular aspect about the book that bugged me a lot- was the abrupt halt in the telling of Paulette's story. My mind was ready to hear about Paulette the explorer and her botanical pursuits at Hong Kong. But all the exploring work somehow got relegated to Robin, the painter. Robin's narrative of Canton through the many letters he sends Paulette are beautiful, funny and spunky. I love Robin. I understand his role in the story but I wish it didn't have to be an either Robin or Paulette choice for the author.
Also the way in which the search for the elusive golden camellias reached a crescendo.....was a bit of a downer.
I loved residing in Fanqui Town, the glitz, the food, the craving, the buzz and the promise of a fantastical poetical garden world... but somehow...those promises could have been better kept.
ehuffman's review against another edition
This book was pretty good. I missed the cast of characters from the first book, but I got into Bahram's story after a bit, and from there on out it was mostly smooth sailing. (Ha.) I did have a bit of trouble getting through all the blah opium arguments. Sorry. I thought the saga with the Golden Camillia ended rather...abruptly. Though perhaps Ghosh will pick it up again in the third book, because it seemed suspiciously terminated.
There was one aspect of the book that I kept having to roll my eyes at: the fact that everything cool seemed to come from the Accha Hong in Canton. Ketchup, chai, cricket. I thought it was kind of cool at first, but then they just stuck out to me and I wanted to shake Ghosh by his shoulders. "Enough with the cool references to modern-day stuff!!!"
But aside from that, it's a good read! I'm really looking forward to the third, whenever that may be...
There was one aspect of the book that I kept having to roll my eyes at: the fact that everything cool seemed to come from the Accha Hong in Canton. Ketchup, chai, cricket. I thought it was kind of cool at first, but then they just stuck out to me and I wanted to shake Ghosh by his shoulders. "Enough with the cool references to modern-day stuff!!!"
But aside from that, it's a good read! I'm really looking forward to the third, whenever that may be...
mrswythe89's review against another edition
3.0
I liked this a lot, but I didn't LOVE it the way I loved Sea of Poppies. I don't think it's the contempt bred by familiarity, or that I'm a more discerning/judgmental reader than I was when I read Sea of Poppies. More likely it's that:
- There are not really any female POV characters (in the first book there were two IIRC -- Deeti and Pauline -- but this time Pauline doesn't stay a POV character for very long at all).
- I don't know Guangzhou well at all, but I am more familiar with it and that cultural milieu than with the setting of the first book, so maybe this book feels more exoticising for that reason? Plus the setting of the first book is more Ghosh's culture and this one isn't. Like, I thought the setting was richly realised and intensively researched as usual, and there were lots of neat things, but somehow it didn't feel as real as the setting in the first book.
- Sort of doubtful about the Robin Chinnery character and POV. (Also because of a couple of hints at the beginning I thought Robin was totally gonna betray Pauline re the camellia, and then he didn't? V. confusing. Or maybe he did and you only find out in the next book!)
- I can see why Ghosh quotes great chunks from period documents (letters from the Commissioner and from Charles King, etc.) but it really felt contrived. "Now a translator will read out bits of this guy's letter!" happened like five times. I think you can probably only use that device once before it gets old. And I was disappointed by the meeting with Napoleon and Zadig Bey and Seth Bahram Modi because there's all this buildup and you think they're gonna interact in interesting ways, and it turns out to be an excuse to exposition-dump about the historical circumstances that led to the Opium War!!
In general there was just too much moralising. I mean, I totally AGREE with Ghosh and can see why he needed to make it clear that these British traders wuz bastards, but it felt like the same argument was being repeated over and over and over. Once would have been enough IMO.
- I just dunno about the patois lah.
That all said, the book's very well written and I enjoyed reading it and Ghosh in the Ibis trilogy is pretty much the writer I aspire to be. Also, lots and lots of food descriptions! <3
- There are not really any female POV characters (in the first book there were two IIRC -- Deeti and Pauline -- but this time Pauline doesn't stay a POV character for very long at all).
- I don't know Guangzhou well at all, but I am more familiar with it and that cultural milieu than with the setting of the first book, so maybe this book feels more exoticising for that reason? Plus the setting of the first book is more Ghosh's culture and this one isn't. Like, I thought the setting was richly realised and intensively researched as usual, and there were lots of neat things, but somehow it didn't feel as real as the setting in the first book.
- Sort of doubtful about the Robin Chinnery character and POV. (Also because of a couple of hints at the beginning I thought Robin was totally gonna betray Pauline re the camellia, and then he didn't? V. confusing. Or maybe he did and you only find out in the next book!)
- I can see why Ghosh quotes great chunks from period documents (letters from the Commissioner and from Charles King, etc.) but it really felt contrived. "Now a translator will read out bits of this guy's letter!" happened like five times. I think you can probably only use that device once before it gets old. And I was disappointed by the meeting with Napoleon and Zadig Bey and Seth Bahram Modi because there's all this buildup and you think they're gonna interact in interesting ways, and it turns out to be an excuse to exposition-dump about the historical circumstances that led to the Opium War!!
In general there was just too much moralising. I mean, I totally AGREE with Ghosh and can see why he needed to make it clear that these British traders wuz bastards, but it felt like the same argument was being repeated over and over and over. Once would have been enough IMO.
- I just dunno about the patois lah.
That all said, the book's very well written and I enjoyed reading it and Ghosh in the Ibis trilogy is pretty much the writer I aspire to be. Also, lots and lots of food descriptions! <3
red_magpie's review against another edition
4.0
Another great dense novel from Mr. Ghosh. Very few authors have the ability to utterly captive me as he can.
christynhoover's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Lots of characters to keep track of, some of whom have different names --sometimes nicknames, occasionally aliases, etc
-- at different times or in different cultures depending where they're living eg China vs "India". A number of the characters were despicable, namely those Europeans (& the occasional American) who were hoping to get rich quick by exporting opium from India to China, a country that officially was against the importation & use of opium.
The history is interesting --folks of various religious backgrounds rubbing elbows; the territories of Macao and Hong Kong seen in their infancy. It's frequently sad/discouraging/maddening!, the "politics" of economics. Some things don't change over the centuries. Gee, the millenia!
There is romance --or the possibility of it-- thrown in. And the pantheon of sexuality gets covered.
-- at different times or in different cultures depending where they're living eg China vs "India". A number of the characters were despicable, namely those Europeans (& the occasional American) who were hoping to get rich quick by exporting opium from India to China, a country that officially was against the importation & use of opium.
The history is interesting --folks of various religious backgrounds rubbing elbows; the territories of Macao and Hong Kong seen in their infancy. It's frequently sad/discouraging/maddening!, the "politics" of economics. Some things don't change over the centuries. Gee, the millenia!
There is romance --or the possibility of it-- thrown in. And the pantheon of sexuality gets covered.
vsra's review against another edition
4.0
The story follows from where the first novel left, however with mostly new characters and a completely different setup, the common thread being only the trade of Opium. A great part of the story and narration is through letters from a new character to an old one..A brilliant piece!
captainhotbun's review against another edition
I just didnt get stuck when reading this.
tinyviolet's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
lariluna's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75