Exceptional work by a writer extraordinaire; the Ibis Trilogy is richly detailed, deeply researched and finely crafted

Amitav Ghosh's latest offering, River of Smoke, is the second installment of the Ibis Trilogy, a historical fiction series, based on the Opium War of 1839. If the first book of the trilogy, Sea of Poppies, left you unsatisfied and thirsty, then River of Smoke will leave you craving the last installment. The Man Booker Prize shortlisted Sea of Poppies followed its characters as they floated in the Ganges in Calcutta and went streaming towards Mauritius, and ended with the clouds of war looming over the British empire. River of Smoke begins with three ships — Ibis, Anahita and Redruth — stuck in a raging storm. Ibis is a three-masted topsail schooner, home to a contrasting cluster of people: sailors, convicts and labourers. Anahita is a ship owned by a wealthy Parsi merchant, Bahram Modi, used for exporting raw opium to the ports of China, and Redruth a watercraft cruised by a Cornish botanist in search of the mythical golden camellia, in China. As the storm recedes and the sea begins to calm, five people are found missing on the Ibis. The book unfolds the fate of these stormtossed characters in Chinese ports, in the city of Canton. River of Smoke is the story of Bahram Modi, the beleaguered sonin- law of a wealthy Parsi family of Bombay, who has found solace in the streets of Canton. He is a successful opium merchant and member of the elite Committee of the Western-led Chamber of Commerce. Lover of a Chinese boatwoman, he has fathered a son he cannot acknowledge. The mandarin of China, after witnessing the horrific effect of opium on the population, has banned its trade in the country. But, before this ban is enforced, Modi wants to sell his last consignment of raw opium to get rid of his domineering in-laws and tormented life in Bombay. Certain characters from the last book make an appearance in this one as well; like the character of Neel, the king who lost his empire to the British in the last book. He has escaped capture and has now become Bahram’s munshi. Despite the appearances of these characters, Ghosh makes sure that anyone unfamiliar with the first book doesn’t feel that he is treading in unknown territory. The book, even though part of a trilogy, has a distinct identity of its own. Though reading the first might set the mood, it is definitely not a prerequisite. The tip of Ghosh’s pen is dipped in history, not ordinary ink. His palette is full of different colours and the smooth strokes of his brush have painted each character in fine detail. Ghosh’s sympathy, which lies with the Chinese population who suffered because of the greedy British and Indian merchants, resonates clearly through his characters. Unlike many other historical fiction novels, which are unable to make a connect with the readers, Ghosh’s narrative is such that the reader drifts away to the historic landscapes of China and joins his characters in their battles. The book is a product of prodigious research by the author, who is a historian himself. The language of the book is Hobson-Jobson and words like maidan, cumshaw and noker-logue are thrown casually at the reader. While most of these words will make perfect sense to an Indian reader, readers not familiar with the various Indian dialects may find it difficult to understand them. But these words have been blended in the story so well that they do not interrupt the flow; instead, they add a historic flavour to an already delicious treat. The only part where the narrative loses its grip is when we read the letters of Robin Chinnery, the fictitious son of the eminent English painter George Chinnery, written to his childhood friend. Here the narrative becomes patchy and appears to be loosely stitched. River of Smoke is not as panoramic as Sea of Poppies was. But it lives up to expectations. It has endearing yet amoral characters with whom readers tend to empathise. Written by an author whose God lies in the details, this trilogy, when complete, will be hailed as a touchstone of modern literature. It’s rich, it’s intelligent and it's unputdownable.