Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

  • Sea of Poppies

  • By: Amitav Ghosh
  • Narrated by: Kish Sharma
  • Length: 14 hrs and 55 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (197 ratings)
Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Sea of Poppies cover art

Sea of Poppies

By: Amitav Ghosh
Narrated by: Kish Sharma
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

The Great Derangement cover art
The Covenant of Water cover art
The Slave Dancer cover art
Anna's Crossing cover art
South of Darkness cover art
Slave to Fortune cover art
Barbados Bound cover art
Hyperion cover art
Elantris (Dramatized Adaptation) cover art
For Whom the Bell Tolls cover art
The Cat's Table cover art
The Three Musketeers (AmazonClassics Edition) cover art
The Many-Colored Land cover art
The Sealwoman's Gift cover art
Burying the Honeysuckle Girls cover art
The Poisonwood Bible cover art

Summary

At the heart of this epic saga, set just before the Opium Wars, is an old slaving-ship, The Ibis. Its destiny is a tumultuous voyage across the Indian Ocean, its crew a motley array of sailors and stowaways, coolies and convicts.

In a time of colonial upheaval, fate has thrown together a truly diverse cast of Indians and Westerners, from a bankrupt Raja to a widowed villager, from an evangelical English opium trader to a mulatto American freedman. As their old family ties are washed away they, like their historical counterparts, come to view themselves as jahaj-bhais or ship-brothers. An unlikely dynasty is born, which will span continents, races and generations.

The vast sweep of this historical adventure spans the lush poppy fields of the Ganges, the rolling high seas, and the exotic backstreets of China. But it is the panorama of characters, whose diaspora encapsulates the vexed colonial history of the East itself, which makes Sea of Poppies so breathtakingly alive - a masterpiece from one of the world's finest novelists.

©2008 Amitav Ghosh (P)2009 Isis Publishing Ltd

What listeners say about Sea of Poppies

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    112
  • 4 Stars
    42
  • 3 Stars
    29
  • 2 Stars
    9
  • 1 Stars
    5
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    98
  • 4 Stars
    42
  • 3 Stars
    18
  • 2 Stars
    5
  • 1 Stars
    12
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    99
  • 4 Stars
    44
  • 3 Stars
    20
  • 2 Stars
    7
  • 1 Stars
    2

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

wonderful!

I'm really enjoying this book. In the beginning I wasn't sure about Kish Sharma's narration, but as I kept listening, I started to appreciate him more and more. His renditions of the characters voices are perfect, and sometimes hysterically funny. The only (constructive) criticism I would have is that sometimes he goes too fast. The story itself is rich, evocative and fascinating. I highly recommend this.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Use the replay speed facility

I was wondering if I could make it through this book. The narrator was galloping and I wasn’t catching names etc. I saw others had mentioned this in reviews. But then I found the speed setting for the replay. Set at 0.75 it slowed down sufficiently to not slur, and give me the detail and time to absorb comfortably. Huge difference. Great book....

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent!

I really enjoyed this book! The reader is amazing! Pity the quality of the sound of the recording was muffled at times!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Loved the book

Would you listen to Sea of Poppies again? Why?

I never listen to a book twice.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

I loved this book, but I wonder if the narrator got a bonus for reading at twice the normal rate. I am glad to see that the second part of the trilogy is narrated by a different narrator.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Didn't Finish

This is the first audio book I have not been able to finish. The narrator spoke much to quickly and words just mearged one into the other. I persevered for several chapters then gave up as I was having to rewind and listen to so many bits again to understand any of the story.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Sound is poor and narration is mediocre

What disappointed you about Sea of Poppies?

The sound is recorded way too low. I have the volume set to max on my phone and can barely hear it - and it is particularly jarring when I switch over to music which, at the same volume setting, is almost deafening.

Would you recommend Sea of Poppies to your friends? Why or why not?

Not the audible version. Poor sound

What didn’t you like about Kish Sharma’s performance?

Flat delivery. Most of the characters hardly sound different from the narration.

You didn’t love this book--but did it have any redeeming qualities?

Good story. Good ideas. But also too much narration and not enough well written dialogue.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Not a good book

What would have made Sea of Poppies better?

The narrator reads too fast, and has an accent, to be able to understand some of the words which are Indian. After 1 hour reading I had to give up the book as a bad loss!

Has Sea of Poppies put you off other books in this genre?

Has put me off both the author and narrator

What didn’t you like about Kish Sharma’s performance?

Accent and reads too fast to understand some of the termonology

Any additional comments?

Waste of money as had to give up reading

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great voice acting! Every character was so different and well fleshed out

Really evocative of the period, it’s piqued my interest about the history of the opium wars and the horrors of colonial occupations.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A powerful work

Atmospheric, acutely descriptive and historically accurate this is a book of tremendous value serving the emotions and intellect of this reader equally. I am much wiser about this period of history and deeply moved by the lived experiences of the people involved. The closure of Book1 in the trilogy is beautifully dramatic. I salute the author for this powerful work. I am eager to read the next book in the trilogy.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Just loved it

Just loved it. Great story and narrator brilliant. Looking forward to hearing next two books in the trilogy.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!