Reading the Chunksters discussion

Has anyone started yet?

No, I was waiting to see how far Drew got when he opened the thread tomorrow. Are we starting today? Have you started, or are you finished?

I have read the first few pages.

For the next two weeks, we will be reading Part I of Sea of Poppies (165 pages) and sharing some of our initial thoughts.

According to Wikipedia, “The story is set prior to the First Opium War, on the banks of the holy river Ganges and in Calcutta. The author compares the Ganges to the Nile, the lifeline of the Egyptian civilization, attributing the provenance and growth of these civilizations to these selfless, ever-flowing bodies. He portrays the characters as poppy seeds emanating in large numbers from the field to form a sea, where every single seed is uncertain about its future.”
Since I am only 75 pages in, I’m not sure exactly what is covered in Part I but here are some questions I think we can ponder throughout the book (from reading groupguides.com):
1. 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?
2. Many of the lives Ghosh depicts are shaped by social and political forces beyond their control. What are some of these forces? Describe some of the individual acts of bravery, defiance, or deception that enable his characters to break free from what they see as their fate.
3. How do those involved in the opium trade, from British factory owners to frontline harvesters, justify their work in Sea of Poppies? How does their industry compare to modern-day drug trafficking versus the pharmaceutical industry?
4. Which historical aspects of the Opium Wars surprised you the most? What did you discover about colonial India by reading Sea of Poppies?
5. Sea of Poppies makes rich use of Asian-influenced English. Some of the words, such as bandanna, loot, and dinghy, are still used frequently, but many others, like bankshall, wanderoo, and chawbuck, are now rare, although they were once common and are included in The Oxford English Dictionary. Discuss the Ibis Chrestomathy, which appears at the end of the book. What do Neel’s observations suggest about language and culture? Why do you think some words disappear from usage, while others endure? Can a culture’s vitality be measured by how eagerly its language absorbs outside influences?
6. In an interview with TheBookseller.com, Ghosh stated that “oil is the opium of today.” Do you agree or disagree?
More to come. Happy reading!

Awesome questions drew! I’ve read 120 pages so far. Really enjoying it so far! It makes me want to research the world’s opium markets today ;) is anyone following the pijjin? Reminds me of moby dick! I can’t believe Zachary was so accommodating to Mr. Burnham, horrible. Can’t wait to see what happens next, and I’ll get to the questions soon, although I suspect some may have to wait for later threads.

For 6, though, I suspect that opium may still be the opium of today! Aren't there numerous articles that support the idea that opium caused the war in afghanistan? I can understand the comparison to oil though, as similar to opium as described in the novel could be regarded as the most precious commodity of nations, worth stripping the land and with the power to create and destroy wealth.

I'm sure Afghanistan and Opium are related. I read that somewhere, but can't recall any of the details. Afghanistan's an interesting country with an amazing history that's often ignored or overlooked compared to it's neighbours.

Access to Opium may have been easier for the drug runners/traders/suppliers than in other countries because it's not as regulated there. Maybe that's what supplied China's dens during their Opium war? Is that oversimplified or am I completely jumbled in trying to recall? It's been a few decades since I've read about it.

Here's one article on it, I'm looking for a good video documentary :)
https://www.afghanistan-analysts.org/...

Biblio wrote: "Afghanistan's an interesting country with an amazing history that's often ignored or overlooked compared to it's neighbours."

Not really! There has been an avalanche of articles, news and documentaries about numerous aspects of Afghanistan's culture, history and society over the last fifteen years (for obvious reasons). However, most people here in the US barely know anything about our neighbor Canada, so why should we tap into the information flow about Afghanistan? Just saying..

The Guardian has great coverage of Afghanistan and opium:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/201...

The are numerous links to related articles at the bottom of the initial article.

True, most of the info is about how Afghanistan's a Muslim country or terrorism, Bin Laden's from there, ect. I rarely see anything on the culture or good stuff about the country. It does a have a long history with war of course.
Pashtunwali, or Code of the Pashtun is a bit better known in recent years, thank goodness. Even that movie, Lone Survivor mentioned it. I did a backflip of happiness!!

(Are we Off topic??)

Biblio wrote: "(Are we Off topic??) "

Never... :P

I would like to read more specialized books at times (*suffering from nonfiction withdrawal syndrome*)...

I always feel like one should combine a nonfiction book with the literature, but one is always (seemingly) out of time. I'm not sure why? Biblio?

The Great Game: The Struggle for Empire in Central Asia by Peter Hopkirk
The Great Game between Victorian Britain and Tsarist Russia was fought across desolate terrain from the Caucasus to China, over the lonely passes of the Parmirs and Karakorams, in the blazing Kerman and Helmund deserts, and through the caravan towns of the old Silk Road—both powers scrambling to control access to the riches of India and the East. When play first began, the frontiers of Russia and British India lay 2000 miles apart; by the end, this distance had shrunk to twenty miles at some points. Now, in the vacuum left by the disintegration of the Soviet Union, there is once again talk of Russian soldiers "dipping their toes in the Indian Ocean."

The Road to Oxiana by Robert Byron
In 1933, the delightfully eccentric travel writer Robert Byron set out on a journey through the Middle East via Beirut, Jerusalem, Baghdad and Teheran to Oxiana, near the border between Afghanistan and the Soviet Union. Throughout, he kept a thoroughly captivating record of his encounters, discoveries, and frequent misadventures. His story would become a best-selling travel book throughout the English-speaking world, until the acclaim died down and it was gradually forgotten. When Paul Fussell published his own book Abroad, in 1982, he wrote that The Road to Oxiana is to the travel book what "Ulysses is to the novel between the wars, and what The Waste Land is to poetry." His statements revived the public's interest in the book, and for the first time, it was widely available in American bookstores. Now this long-overdue reprint will introduce it to a whole new generation of readers.

The Places in Between by Rory Stewart
In January 2002 Rory Stewart walked across Afghanistan-surviving by his wits, his knowledge of Persian dialects and Muslim customs, and the kindness of strangers. By day he passed through mountains covered in nine feet of snow, hamlets burned and emptied by the Taliban, and communities thriving amid the remains of medieval civilizations. By night he slept on villagers' floors, shared their meals, and listened to their stories of the recent and ancient past. Along the way Stewart met heroes and rogues, tribal elders and teenage soldiers, Taliban commanders and foreign-aid workers. He was also adopted by an unexpected companion-a retired fighting mastiff he named Babur in honor of Afghanistan's first Mughal emperor, in whose footsteps the pair was following.

These sound great!! Non-Fiction's always great to pair w/ fiction! Ack!! So many books ^.^

There's also:
The Carpet Wars: From Kabul to Baghdad: A Ten-Year Journey Along Ancient Trade Routes
The Storyteller's Daughter: One Woman's Return to Her Lost Homeland
A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush

Oh, I forgot about Eric Newby! I really need to read some of his books. Do you like his works, Biblio? So many great reviews of his journeys. The Carpet Wars sounds really interesting as well! :)

We are so far off topic!! Back to the Opium trade or original questions!!

Watch out Biblio! The moderators will come for you....!

Odds? I’d say pretty darn remote.

I just finished this section. It honestly ended at a great point, although now my mind is swirling with the multitude of characters, places, loves, deaths, betrayals and moments of pure human kindness. I particularly liked the Deeti/Kalua story - what an amazing rescue, wow! as well as the Nob Kissin/Taramony story, and the Zachary/Paulette situation also seems to be promising. It seemed that a lot of the opium workers had some type of exposure to the drug just from working with it - perhaps some addiction was inevitable? The Hukam Singh addiction and death was so horrifying it reminded me of the movie Transpotting. I'm not quite sure what to think of Neel at this point - I wonder how he will survive the next section. I thought he took his fate with considerable grace though!

I just picked up my book today, fresh from the library. Guess what lovely scent it has? Eau D' Library *beams happily*

The start of this book is simply lovely!! Saris & Puja Rooms. The contents are every bit as lovely as the cover ^.^ I promise, last time I mention the cover art (maybe)

Dianne wrote: "I just finished this section. It honestly ended at a great point, although now my mind is swirling with the multitude of characters, places, loves, deaths, betrayals and moments of pure human kindn..."

I just finished this section too and I'm excited to see how all these characters come together. Terrific book so far!

I wish our books were equipped with a map to highlight some of the places we would be visiting, whether aware of the area or not. So, I found this interactive map online to help me navigate the area better ... Key Places in Sea of Poppies.