Books and ME.

My Experience with Flood of Fire

So, finally, we are at the last leg of the epic trilogy. The journey started with the Sea of Poppies and took me on a journey of a lifetime. I could visualise so many things through the book sitting in my room. But today the heart is heavy, like the day I finished the third part of the magnums trilogy.

Today, I would write about 'Flood Of Fire', the third instalment of the 'Ibis Trilogy.' A decade of hard work and nearly 1600 pages of an extraordinary majestic trilogy comes to a monumental ending. Mr Amitav Ghosh is a master storyteller who spun a beautiful tale which concluded with the first opium war. Right from the beginning, Mr Ghosh had taken us on a roller coaster ride and continued it till the third part. One of the major reasons I was intrigued by the book was as I was curious about how the story would end. It had so many characters and multiple subplots, but the way it ended just blew me over. I could not imagine the book ending any better.

The writer had created a world of sepoys, lancers, traders, opium dealers, king and British aristocrats. The story in this part finally reached the part where all the seeds for the great first opium war have been sown. The Chinese general had called up the first move by capturing all the opium and closing the trade, leading many traders with heavy loss. But the East India Company was not in a mood to listen. The call for war has been answered the Britishers started towards China with a huge cantonment of soldiers and armoured ships. Meanwhile, all the characters of the story had converged in China and were taking their story to an end.

The story starts in 1839, a few months before the war where some new characters are introduced, but as with the magic of Mr Ghosh, they all are connected. Even with so many characters you never would be confused or forget about who the character was and that is where the magic lies. Some characters who were introduced in the first book but were not present in the second book make an entry in the third book. Every character is important to the story, and they all take the story ahead. The book is a team effort of all the characters in the story.

It is not easy writing an entire book on war. Describing war scenes page after page and in such a way that the reader can literally visualise the events is not an effortless task. Mr Ghosh has taken the tough task and has made it look so easy with his way of writing. It's all about the writing. If you feel the war starts from the first page and ends on the last page, you are mistaken. The build-up is continued from the previous two books, and as the story progresses, you get to witness parts of the war from the point of view of various characters. There are many war scenes which have been described with such perfection that it felt like we are a part of the war. The description of the surroundings was mesmerising. Mr Ghosh has shown the ugly side of the war to the highest level and also he showed how the war helped his characters start a new life.

A decade of handwork is clearly visible in the trilogy. It would have taken loads of research to keep all the historical facts intact and spinning a tale around it. Mr Amitav Ghosh has craved a masterpiece. Just keep one thing in mind, if you start reading the book, you need to have all the three parts with you because you can't wait to start the next book.

Mr Ghosh sets the story in the backdrop of the first opium war, and that is the uniqueness of the story. The book is about many subplots which converge at the war in China. The opium war is an important part of the story and is responsible for changing the lives of all the characters in the story. The historical accuracy and the depiction of characters are per the timeline has been properly researched by the writer. When you decide to create a magnum opus, it has to be larger than life. You cannot compromise on any part of the story.

When I started the first part, this was my first time reading Mr Ghosh's book. The entire trilogy is nearly 1600-pages, and for a moment I did not get a feeling that how can I finish such a huge book and when I finished all the parts, it left me wanting for more and I realised I finished it in a record time. When a story is interesting, it is bound to hold you till the end.

I do not want to discuss all the characters in details as it would take away the essence of the book. As you proceed with the story, you would be hit with many characters and how they slowly get integrated into the story and play a part in the story. The way all the characters are amalgamated in the story is the beauty which every aspiring writer should learn. Every writer has his/her own way of doing it, but I feel this is the best to date I have ever read. A character is newly introduced, and as the chapter would end, you would get the feeling like the character is a part of the story from the beginning. The writer would slowly link the character with someone in the story, and that would build the interest level of the reader. There is no end to the curiosity as you keep on turning the pages, but all your curiosity would be answered as the story ends.

At 616 pages, Flood of Fire is the bulkiest of the three as the story rides towards the most-awaited conclusion. Just like the other two parts, this part promises you an unputdownable experience. All the three books had one thing in common- none of them had a boring premise in it. I would not just suggest but would request all to read this epic trilogy, and you won't regret it.

Until I upload my experience with another book, till then take care, be safe and keep on reading. Cheers.