Book Club Discussion Questions
For supplemental discussion material see our Beyond the Book article, and our BookBrowse Review of Sea of Poppies.
Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!
About This Book
Turning his eye to the nineteenth-century opium trade, the acclaimed author
Amitav Ghosh has crafted a novel that is by turns witty and provocative, while
delivering a magnificent historical adventure. An intricate saga,
Sea of Poppies
brings together a motley array of sailors and stowaways, coolies and convicts,
who
have embarked on a tumultuous voyage across the Indian Ocean in the midst of the
Opium Wars between Britain and China. This panorama of characters, including a
mulatto freedman from America, a bankrupt raja, a beautiful, free-spirited
French
orphan, a widowed tribeswoman, and other disparate members of society, brings to
life a period of colonial upheaval that caused seismic cultural shifts
throughout the
globe. The events transpiring aboard the Ibis (a former slave ship) provide a
rich
tapestry of a time when the world stood poised to witness some of the most
profound
destructionand most sweeping liberationin the history of humanity.
From the lush poppy fields of the Ganges to the crowded backstreets of Canton,
across a rolling high sea that beckons throughout the narrative, this is a
portrait of
fateful events you will not soon forget.
Discussion Questions
- Discuss how the relationships between the various classes of people
aboard the
Ibis change throughout the novel. To what extent does the caste system
affect these
relationships? Which characters undergo the most significant changes?
- How are women's roles different from men's in Sea of Poppies? What common
ground do Deeti, Paulette, and Munia share?
- What does the Ibis represent to Zachary at various points in the novel?
How does
his perception of the ship change as his perception of himself changes?
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- How does the author develop themes of identity and belonging throughout the narrative?
- What role does the setting play in shaping the characters' decisions and relationships?
- Discuss how the ending reframes the events of the story. Were you surprised?
Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of Picador.
Any page references refer to a USA edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions.