amitabh ghosh::When the seas settle, five men have disappeared two lascars, two convicts and one of the passengers amitabh ghosh

amitabh ghosh::When the seas settle, five men have disappeared two lascars, two convicts and one of the passengers.
Did the same storm upend the fortunes of those aboard the anahita , an opium carrier heading towards canton?
And what fate befell those aboard the redruth , a sturdy twomasted brig heading east out of cornwall?
Was it the storm that altered their course or were the destinies of these passengers at the mercy of even more powerful forces?
On the grand scale of an historical epic, river of smoke follows its stormtossed characters to the crowded harbors of china.
There, despite efforts of the emperor to stop them, ships from europe and india exchange their cargoes of opium for boxes tea, silk, porcelain and silver.
As transporting and mesmerizing as an opiate induced dream, river of smoke will soon be heralded as a masterpiece of twentyfirst century literature.
Amitav ghosh was born in calcutta and grew up in bangladesh, sri lanka and india.
He studied at the universities of delhi and oxford, has taught at a number of institutions and written for many magazines.
River of smoke is the second in the ibis trilogy, the first of which, the bestselling sea of poppies, was shortlisted for the man booker prize in 2008.
He currently divides his time between calcutta, goa and brooklyn.