The Ibis trilogy

[Idéfix]

I started reading Amitav Ghosh's Sea of Poppies over the long weekend. It is a fantastically researched book, the first in a trilogy focusing on Indian Ocean trade in the first half of the 19th century. I am now more than halfway through the second book, River of Smoke. The trilogy follows a diverse cast of characters in their adventures across Bihar, Bengal, Guangdong, Mauritius, Singapore, and Europe in the build up to the first Opium War. It is the most in-depth view of the trade system set up by the British East India Company that I have ever seen in a work of fiction. The author does a phenomenal job of telling the story from several different perspectives. For anyone who likes reading historical fiction, this is an absolute must-read.

I also highly recommend Ghosh's book about Myanmar, The Glass Palace. This book is set in the middle of the 20th century, following the fortunes of a diverse set of characters from Bengal, Bombay, Madras, Burma, Malaya and Britain before, during and after the Second World War.

[MaxEntropy_Man]

I've read the glass palace and the hungry tide and enjoyed both of them. He has also written a book about the historical ties between Egypt and India (non-fiction) told through the eyes of an ancient traveler. That was an enjoyable read too.