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A review by stevendedalus
Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh
3.0
A cogent addition to the deluge of Magic Realism books coming from India, but not particularly insightful or incisive.
You get the usual multi-generational drama telling the story of the country and it's colonization and culture, this time through the lens of the opium wars. More than most, Ghosh delights in using non-English words and colloquialisms to remind you "Hey, look, this is exotic!" But it usually comes off as overmuch.
Most of the secondary English characters are one-dimensional villains, which robs the narrative of much of its conflict since it feels so thin. The main characters are interesting enough, and it's paced well, but the plot, characters, and themes just seem to be retreading lines that have been laid down many times before.
I don't feel it added anything new to the genre, though it's competent in its execution and rigid adherence to the genre.
You get the usual multi-generational drama telling the story of the country and it's colonization and culture, this time through the lens of the opium wars. More than most, Ghosh delights in using non-English words and colloquialisms to remind you "Hey, look, this is exotic!" But it usually comes off as overmuch.
Most of the secondary English characters are one-dimensional villains, which robs the narrative of much of its conflict since it feels so thin. The main characters are interesting enough, and it's paced well, but the plot, characters, and themes just seem to be retreading lines that have been laid down many times before.
I don't feel it added anything new to the genre, though it's competent in its execution and rigid adherence to the genre.