‘River of Smoke’ is the second in a series of historical novels by Amitav Ghosh. The book deals with the period leading up to the Opium Wars in China in the early nineteenth century. That period of history is fascinating for today’s readers. Drugs were hopelessly entwined in the fabric of life then, just as they are now. The personal, political, and economic consequences of addiction were serious. The complexities of addiction are fascinating, and the connections between the personal and political realms are manifold. Our ‘War on Drugs’ has its antecedents in this earlier time, but at that time Westerners were playing the roles of merchants and drug lords. Profits were huge and the moral justifications elaborate and stretched thin. For these connections alone the book is a fascinating read.
But the real strength of the book is its obsession with language. Ghosh manages to capture something of the spirit of the time by using bits and pieces of many dialects and languages. Many cultures mix and clash, and the resulting linguistic hodge-podge is wonderful to behold. Ghosh seems to be addicted to the pleasures of language just as some of his characters are addicted to opium. His playful use of language is fascinating, fun, ribald, and ultimately revealing of the time he describes. I know of no other author who manages to pull this off. Go too far in this direction and the language becomes incomprehensible. Not far enough and much of the richness of the reading experience would be lost. More often than not Ghosh strikes the right balance.Approach the book with an open mind. Don’t be put off by the dialects. Stick with it even if you’re a little confused. Read it aloud. Rejoice in the complexity. Enjoy.
