River of Smoke
by Amitav Ghosh
- Used
- Fine
- Hardcover
- Signed
- first
- Condition
- Fine/Fine
- ISBN 10
- 0719568986
- ISBN 13
- 9780719568985
- Seller
-
Tomball, Texas, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
First UK Edition/First Printing with a "1" on the copyright page: A Fine book in a Fine dust jacket with no apparent flaws, as new and unread. SIGNED by the author on the title page. An outstanding copy of this novel by the award winning author of "Sea of Poppies", "The Circle of Reason", etc. This title somewhat scarce in collectible condition and signed. Not remaindered, not price clipped, not ex-library; in a protective Mylar cover and will ship in a sturdy box.
Reviews
On May 30 2015, CloggieDownunder said:
“Opium is like the wind or the tides: it is outside my power to affect its course. A man is neither good nor evil because he sails his ship upon the wind. It is his conduct towards those around him – his friends, his family, his servants – by which he must be judged. This is the creed I live by”
River of Smoke is the second book in the Ibis Trilogy by Amitav Ghosh. The story starts with an elderly Deeti Colver in Mauritius, visiting her shrine with its pictorial record of the family history. But another visitor is asked to make his not-insignificant contribution: soon the reminiscences of Neel Rattan Halder, also familiar to readers from Sea of Poppies, take over the tale. The reader learns the fate of some of the passengers of the Ibis after the storm in the Bay of Bengal, in particular, Paulette Lambert , Ah Fatt and Neel, with occasional mentions of Zachary Reid’s fate. But the majority of this book centres on Ah Fatt’s Parsi father, Seth Bahram Modi, whose opium-laden ship, the Anahita, weathers the same storm in the Bay of Bengal, en route to Canton, and on events there as the Chinese Emperor takes steps to eradicate the scourge of the opium trade on his people.
Once again, Ghosh gives the reader a tremendous amount of information: of course, opium trade features largely, but Chinese customs, trade and diplomacy, bird’s nest soup, the transport of live plants across the globe, Asian art, painted gardens and Napoleon all get a mention. And providing all this, as he does, in the context of an engaging story set against the backdrop of events leading to the First Opium War, he makes it easy to assimilate. His characters are all well-rounded: their backstories often forming interesting little tales by themselves. His (and his ancestor’s) fascination with the migration of words is apparent in the many different language forms that appear: local patois, pidgin and slang. The number of aliases that some of the characters have is another intriguing facet of this book.
As well as straight narrative, Ghosh gives the reader facts by employing the device of a newcomer’s first impressions and explanations. The letters from Robin Chinnery to Paulette, in particular, serve this purpose, as well as being a marvellous source of humour. This book, like the first, is filled with beautiful descriptive prose and insightful observations: “Nowhere on earth, I suspect, is the importance of portals as well understood as in China. In this country, gateways are not merely entrances and exits - they are tunnels between different dimensions of existence”. Another excellent read that will have fans looking forward to the third book, Flood of Fire.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Grayshelf Books, ABAA, IOBA (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 2444
- Title
- River of Smoke
- Author
- Amitav Ghosh
- Book Condition
- Used - Fine
- Jacket Condition
- Fine
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Binding
- Hardcover
- ISBN 10
- 0719568986
- ISBN 13
- 9780719568985
- Publisher
- John Murray
- Place of Publication
- London
- Date Published
- 2011
- Keywords
- First Edition, Signed
- Bookseller catalogs
- Indian Literature;
Terms of Sale
Grayshelf Books, ABAA, IOBA
Bryan H. Young D.V.M.dba Grayshelf Books, 19111 Desert Eagle Dr., Tomball, Tx 77377Email - bhydvm@gmail.comWe accept payment by Paypal, Visa, Mastercard, checks, or money orders.Texas residents please add 8% sales tax.We guarantee all books to be as described.Additional scans of books will be provided upon request.
30 day full money back guarantee to include shipping costs if an item arrives damaged or not as described in listing.
About the Seller
Grayshelf Books, ABAA, IOBA
Biblio member since 2018
Tomball, Texas
About Grayshelf Books, ABAA, IOBA
Grayshelf Books is an online collectors library originating out of the love of collecting rare books. We specialize, but are not limited to, modern first editions from the 20th and 21st century. We also maintain inventory of rare works in the Science Fiction and Horror genres. We guarantee all of our books in regards to condition stated on the listings and all books are protected in mylar covers and shipped with the utmost care in sturdy boxes. Thanks for viewing our listings!
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
- Price Clipped
- When a book is described as price-clipped, it indicates that the portion of the dust jacket flap that has the publisher's...
- Title Page
- A page at the front of a book which may contain the title of the book, any subtitles, the authors, contributors, editors, the...
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
- New
- A new book is a book previously not circulated to a buyer. Although a new book is typically free of any faults or defects, "new"...