Ghosh, Amitav "Flood of Fire"

Ghosh, Amitav "Flood of Fire" (Ibis Trilogy #3) - 2015

After reading "Sea of Poppies" two years ago, I was happy that the second book "River of Smoke" had already been published and I could just carry on reading. Then I was so disappointed to find that the third book had not even been written, yet.

Well, it was worth the wait. I probably should have reread the first two first and then carried on with the last one but I just couldn't wait. Characters, scenes, events did come back but I would have liked a little more reintroduction in some cases. I was also happy to see what happened to some of the characters from "Sea of Poppies" that were hardly or not at all mentioned in "River of Smoke" so that it all came back together again. I was not happy to learn that the author abandoned the thought of carrying on further with the story as he had intended after the second book. What a shame. I do hope he will write more, though, because I do love his style which I already admired in "The Glass Palace".

Just  a fantastic read. Mesmerizing, captivating. So much more history of a part of the world I don't know much about. I don't think we went into much detail in our lessons about the opium war because I certainly didn't remember that but I know a lot about it today.

If you are really interested in the history of this part of the world or if you just would like to read a good adventure story or like a captivating tale about a lot of people, this trilogy is for you. Enjoy.

See more comments on my ThrowbackThursday post in 2025.

From the back cover:

"It is 1839 and tension has been rapidly mounting between China and British India following the crackdown on opium smuggling by Beijing. With no resolution in sight, the colonial government declares war.

One of the vessels requisitioned for the attack, the Hind, travels eastwards from Bengal to China, sailing into the midst of the First Opium War. The turbulent voyage brings together a diverse group of travellers, each with their own agenda to pursue. Among them is Kesri Singh, a sepoy in the East India Company who leads a company of Indian sepoys; Zachary Reid, an impoverished young sailor searching for his lost love, and Shireen Modi, a determined widow en route to China to reclaim her opium-trader husband's wealth and reputation. Flood of Fire follows a varied cast of characters from India to China, through the outbreak of the First Opium War and China's devastating defeat, to Britain's seizure of Hong Kong."

This is also a book about books. Quite a few are mentioned, either because the characters are reading them or because they quote from them.

Defoe, Daniel "Robinson Crusoe"
Goldsmith, Oliver "The Vicar of Wakefield"
Haywood, Eliza "Love in Excess"
Richardson, Samuel "Pamela"
Sterne, Laurence "The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman"
Voltaire "Zadig"

You can find my reviews of other Amitav Ghosh novels here.

Anam, Tahmima "The Good Muslim"

Anam, Tahmima "The Good Muslim" - 2011

Brothers and sisters can always have different points of view, on politics, on religion, on education, on anything.

In this case, a brother and a sister fight for their country Bangladesh. When the civil war is over, they go their own ways, they make completely different choices. The brother, Sohail, turns very religious and becomes a "good Muslim", the sister, Maya, becomes  a doctor and causes all sorts of trouble. They don't see each other for years until the brother's wife dies. Maya wants to take care of her nephew but the different views of the two clash.

Even though the author describes the situation between the two well, in my opinion, everything is just a little too superficial, doesn't go deep enough, a lot of hints and short descriptions but nothing that really sticks out and clarifies the point of view. Too "easy" in my opinion but if you like to read chick lit, you might enjoy it. There is only a small glimpse into the culture, and not much about the war at all.

Again, my verdict, too superficial, not detailed enough.

I only learned later that this is the second book in a series, the book cover says nothing about it. So, if you want to read this, you might want to start with "A Golden Age", although I don't think I will read it because I don't expect it to be any different from this one.

From the back cover:

"Maya Haque - outspoken, passionate, headstrong - has been estranged from her brother Sohail for almost a decade. When she returns home to Dhaka hoping for a reconciliation, she discovers he has transformed beyond recognition. Can the two, both scarred by war, come together again? And what of Sohail's young son, Zaid, caught between worlds but desperate to belong?"

Ali, Monica "Brick Lane"

Ali, Monica "Brick Lane" - 2003

This book was suggested ages ago in our book club. It was never chosen but I had it on my wish list ever since. Not a bad decision.

Brick Lane is the name of a street in East London where a lot of Bangladeshi immigrants live. This is the story about Nazneen from a tiny village in Bangladesh who gets married off to an elderly man in London, England. From now on, she leads the life so many women lead, she lives in England but is more or less confined to the walls of her little apartment. She lives a Bengali life in Europe.

I loved the way the author describes the characters, especially Nazneen, the young bride who grows during the novel. Her relationship with her husband, children, neighbours, her sister back in Bangladesh, everything is characterized so well. You can almost feel what Nazneen is feeling, smell the smells, hear the sounds of the city.

An interesting story with so many topics, the main one being "fate" and fighting or giving in to it.

Gripping story, very satisfying read.

Monica Ali was shortlisted for the Booker Prize for "Brick Lane" in 2003.

See more comments on my ThrowbackThursday post in 2024.

From the back cover:

"A captivating read from a debut novelist, Brick Lane brings the immigrant milieu of East London to vibrant life. With great poignancy, Ali illuminates a foreign world; her well-developed characters pull readers along on a deeply psychological, almost spiritual journey. Through the eyes of two Bangladeshi sisters - the plain Nazneen and the prettier Hasina - we see the divergent paths of the contemporary descendants of an ancient culture. Hasina elopes to a "love marriage," and young Nazneen, in an arranged marriage, is pledged to a much older man living in London.

Ali's skillful narrative focuses on Nazneen's stifling life with her ineffectual husband, who keeps her imprisoned in a city housing project filled with immigrants in varying degrees of assimilation. But Ali reveals a bittersweet tension between the 'two kinds of love' Nazneen and her sister experience - that which begins full and overflowing, only to slowly dissipate, and another which emerges like a surprise, growing unexpectedly over years of faithful commitment. Both of these loves have their own pitfalls: Hasina's passionate romance crumbles into domestic violence, and Nazneen's marriage never quite reaches a state of wedded bliss.

Though comparisons have drawn between Ali and Zadie Smith, a better comparison might be made between this talented newcomer and the work of Amy Tan, who so deftly portrays the immigrant experience with empathy and joy."

Ghosh, Amitav "The Glass Palace"

Ghosh, Amitav "The Glass Palace" - 2000 

This was a great book club read, very popular with the members.

The story of Burma and its neighbours, so if you are a fan of India or Indian novels, this is also a book for you because it features quite a few Indian characters, as well. I love historic novels and this is one that's really worth reading. Of course, like all novels telling about history, there are a lot of sad sides to this book but it definitely is worth reading. It's worth writing down a "family tree" while reading, it helps remembering the connections between the characters - there are a lot.

We discussed this in our international book club in February 2005.

Amitav Ghosh is a promising new author for me. I read several of his books later, you can find the reviews here.

From the back cover:

"Set in Burma during the British invasion of 1885, this masterly novel by Amitav Ghosh tells the story of Rajkumar, a poor boy lifted on the tides of political and social chaos, who goes on to create an empire in the Burmese teak forest. When soldiers force the royal family out of the Glass Palace and into exile, Rajkumar befriends Dolly, a young woman in the court of the Burmese Queen, whose love will shape his life. He cannot forget her, and years later, as a rich man, he goes in search of her. The struggles that have made Burma, India, and Malaya the places they are today are illuminated in this wonderful novel by the writer Chitra Divakaruni calls 'a master storyteller.'"

See more comments on my ThrowbackThursday post in 2022.