Smoke and Ashes

It is not far off a perfect non-fiction book; the writing is sublime, the research thorough, the eye for story superb and there are splashes of personal backstory that underscore the sincerity of the author’s arguments. Tristan Gooley, Sunday Telegraph

The Booker-shortlisted author of the Ibis trilogy explores the impact of opium on global history, economies, cultures, and his own understanding of self.

When Amitav Ghosh began the research for his monumental cycle of novels the Ibis Trilogy, he was startled to find how the lives of the 19th century sailors and soldiers he wrote of were dictated not only by the currents of the Indian Ocean, but also by the precious commodity carried in enormous quantities on those currents: opium. Most surprising at all, however, was the discovery that his own identity and family history was swept up in the story.