Scan barcode
A review by christynhoover
River of Smoke by Amitav Ghosh
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.