About Book
The Ibis Saga is a trilogy authored by the Indian writer Amitav Ghosh. The central theme of these novels is the Opium Trade that later led to the Opium Wars in China. The first book, Sea of Poppies, was set against the background of the source of opium - the poppy fields in India.
In this second book, River of Smoke, the drug is on its way to China. Three ships, with different cargoes, are brought together by an unexpected storm. The Ibis is carrying convicts and laborers, The Anahita carries a cargo of opium to China, and The Redruth is owned by a British botanist, Fitcher Penrose, on his way to China to collect some rare specimen.
The Anahita is owned by Bahram Modi, a Parsi businessman who is the son-in-law of a rich ship builder. He had managed to convince his father-in-law to finance his trade in opium. After his father-in-law’s death, his brothers-in-law force him to retire, but Modi gets ready for one last big transaction. He carries a final cargo of opium on The Anahita, and is now seeking to sell his final consignment before a ban on the drug in China comes into effect. He also has a son in China, Ah Fat, through a Chinese boat woman, Chi Mei.
Ah Fat and Neel Rattan, a landlord, are both convicts who have escaped from The Ibis. They meet Bahram and Neel Rattan becomes Modi’s secretary. The botanist Fitcher Penrose is accompanied by Paulette Lambert, the daughter of a French botanist. They are in search of a rare flower, the golden camellias.
All these different characters, with different quests, meet in the storm tossed sea near Canton. They are all headed for the Foreign Enclave, which is a melting pot of different cultures and different classes of society, and what happens next is unveiled in Amitav Ghosh’s signature style.
About Author
Amitav Ghosh was born in 1956 in Kolkata. He graduated from Delhi University and later got a D.Phil from St. Edmond Hall, Oxford. He is a multiple award-winning author.
His other books include Sea of Poppies, The Calcutta Chromosome, The Circle of Reason, The Hungry Tide, and The Shadow Lines.
He is married to author Deborah Baker, who also works at Little, Brown and Company as a Senior Editor. They have two children and live in New York.