Sea of Poppies

Very seldom can a novel be summed up in one sentence. If it can, I don't feel it bodes well for the writing. Here goes:

A disparate group of people in India eventually meet up on a ship.

If a second sentence were necessary, then maybe either: Stuff happens; or This is their story. As you can see, the second sentence doesn't really add much that isn't already implied.

First off, there are some good points to this novel. It is impeccably well researched. Both the setting of 19th-century India and the nautical aspects are very informative. We get a very detailed picture of the life and times of the people and the culture. Even the seafaring component will be familiar to readers of Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin novels. It's that good. The only slip-up may be a tendency to go overboard with the local vernacular. Local dialect is used for most common nouns: occupations, household items, places, etc. It's usually easy enough to pick up the meaning from the context, but it gets tiresome after a while and does feel a bit show-offy. But, for the most part, the bulk of my two-star rating is for this wonderful reward to an otherwise lackluster story.

The rest of the book is trying to be a multi-character character novel, and I think that's where it fails. Usually, a character novel takes one character--maybe two--and mines their life and personality to make a compelling story. It is extremely detailed, but it can be rewarding when done well. On the other hand, a multi-character novel usually suffices with describing the characters' many actions and interactions to form a story. This novel is uncomfortably in the middle, as the multiple characters don't allow for enough time spent on any one of them, and yet too much time is spent on them as a whole to form much of a plot. It comes across as extremely half-assed because it's trying to be all things to all people. Not enough plot because there is too much character description; and not enough character description because there are too many characters. And then, to add insult to injury, most of what does happen is woe-is-me-look-at-all-the-problems-I-have kind of weepy melodrama.

Lastly is the narrative. As already mentioned, there's a problem with overuse--not merely use, but overuse--of non-English words in what is an English novel. However, the author also has an annoying way of starting many paragraphs with a statement, followed by a colon. Then, I assume, every other sentence in the paragraph is somehow supporting information for the introductory sentence. Like the use of local dialect, it becomes too much, too often. It all makes for an extremely unbalanced novel. Moderation is not to be found anywhere. The dialog is decent, but the narrative is dreary.

I did enjoy a few of the subplots and characters, but I think the novel either should've been separated into about three and properly written as character novels, or else pared down and more focused on the plot. The sad part is it's part one of a trilogy about something I'm very interested in, but I can't see myself putting up with this for that long. It took me several months to slog through this because I knew nothing much was going to happen when I picked it up. And, you know what? I was right. Sometimes, I hate being right.