Sea of Poppies

Sea of Poppies, a novel by Amitav Ghosh published in 2008, tells the intertwining stories of several people who find themselves aboard the Ibis, a former slave ship, in the early 19th century. The principal characters are aboard the ship under varying and more and less desirable circumstances, and employing varying levels of deception. The novel takes place shortly before the First Opium War, and its major themes are of imperialism and colonialism under a backdrop of drug smuggling and human trafficking by the hands of the British in India and (though largely unseen) China. It is the first in the Ibis trilogy of novels, which also includes River of Smoke (2011) and Flood of Fire (2015). Sea of Poppies was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2008.

Part 1 begins with Deeti, who has a vision of the Ibis while working on her poppy farm hundreds of miles inland. Deeti’s husband is an opium addict and a member of a powerful family in the region; when he dies, assuming she has nothing left to offer and concerned about her options, Deeti decides to die on a window’s pyre. However, Kalua, a low-caste ox-cart driver, saves her at the last moment, and the two run away together. Meanwhile, Zachary Reid joins the Ibis in Baltimore as his first voyage; due to a series of mishaps, by the time he reaches Calcutta, he is the only remaining member of the original crew and the acting captain, taken under Serang Ali’s wing. Jodu, a Muslim boatman, returns to Calcutta to find Paulette, with whom he was raised; however, when the Ibis destroys his boat, he asks Paulette to ask Zachary to get employment for him on the ship. Lastly, Neel Halder, the Raja of Raskhali, sees the Ibis arrive and meets with Benjamin Burnham to discuss his debts. When he refuses one final time to relinquish his lands to Burnham, Burnham brings him up on exaggerated forgery charges.

In Part 2, Deeti and Kalua continue to travel downriver, remaining hidden as much as possible. They eventually make their way to Chhapra, but after seeing Bhyro Singh and overhearing that they are being hunted, they decide to sign up as indentured servants in Mauritius to escape. Zachary, meanwhile, begins to ingratiate himself into gentlemanly life in Calcutta; Burnham et al take a liking to him, though the first mate of the voyage dislikes him almost from the start, and nearly kills him at the end of the section. Jodu becomes familiar with the ship and manages to gain the respect of the rest of the crew, who initially dislike him, as he is a freshwater boatman. Paulette realizes that she must escape Calcutta and the Burnhams; she initially asks Zachary to get her on the ship, but when he declines, she hatches a plan with Baboo Nob Kissin instead to be brought on board disguised as a Bengali woman, under the pretense of traveling for an arranged marriage. Neel is sentenced to 7 years of labor in Mauritius and the loss of his lands. He is transported to jail to await his departure, where he meets Ah Fatt, an opium addict who is to be transported with him.

Part 3 takes place almost entirely at sea, as the varies storylines come together. Deeti and Kalua discover upon boarding that Bhyro Singh is on the ship; they manage to elude him, or so they think, for much of the journey, but discover near the end that he is aware of their presence on the ship. He begins to exact his revenge on Deeti; although Kalua is able to rescue Deeti, one of Bhyro’s guards falls overboard in the process, and Kalua is charged with murder. While being flogged for the separate crime of rescuing Deeti in Ghazipur, Kalua manages to break free from his restraints and kill Bhyro, after which he is sentenced to be executed by Chillingworth.

Zachary, meanwhile, begins to fall into his role as second mate, sparring frequently with the first mate, Crowle. Through conversation, Zachary discovers that Serang Ali was a pirate. Zachary confronts Ali, who agrees to disappear in Port Louis. Crowle, meanwhile, discovers Zachary’s race and attempts to blackmail him into mutiny; however, Zachary declines. Jodu’s flirtation with one of the migrant women, Munia, results in Bhyro Singh severely beating him. Paulette, meanwhile, reveals herself first to Jodu, accidentally, then purposely to Zachary after discovering his race and realizing that Zachary is the only person on the ship who might understand her own multiple identities. Neel and Ah Fatt grow close, but this is disrupted by Crowle, who convinces Ah Fatt to urinate on Neel in exchange for what he believes to be opium.

In the final chapter, as Zachary and Crowle argue, Ah Fatt sneaks in and kills Crowle in revenge for his actions. Zachary runs above board in time to watch Serang Ali, Jodu, Kalua, Neel, and Ah Fatt disappear on a stolen longboat, heading to Singapore. On deck are Baboo Nob Kissin, Paulette, and Deeti, the last of whom he knows, even though he has never met her.