John Thieme
World’s End
Flood of Fire
By Amitav Ghosh
John Murray 624pp £20
Flood of Fire is the concluding part of Amitav Ghosh’s Ibis trilogy, a sprawling epic about the events leading up to the First Opium War. Like the first two parts of the trilogy, Sea of Poppies and River of Smoke, the novel’s canvas is vast, following the fortunes of a varied group of travellers who journey from Bengal to south China. It brings history alive by providing multiple perspectives on the origins and early stages of the war, particularly in its portrayal of events through the eyes of Indian and Indian-based characters.
Foremost among the novel’s many characters are Kesri Singh, a sepoy in the Bengal Volunteers, whose regiment is part of the British expeditionary force; Shireen Modi, the widow of a Parsi opium trader, who breaks purdah to travel to China to claim compensation for her husband’s losses; and the mixed-race,
Sign Up to our newsletter
Receive free articles, highlights from the archive, news, details of prizes, and much more.@Lit_Review
Follow Literary Review on Twitter
Twitter Feed
Knowledge of Sufism increased markedly with the publication in 1964 of The Sufis, by Idries Shah. Nowadays his writings, much like his father’s, are dismissed for their Orientalism and inaccuracy.
@fitzmorrissey investigates who the Shahs really were.
Fitzroy Morrissey - Sufism Goes West
Fitzroy Morrissey: Sufism Goes West - Empire’s Son, Empire’s Orphan: The Fantastical Lives of Ikbal and Idries Shah by Nile Green
literaryreview.co.uk
Rats have plagued cities for centuries. But in Baltimore, researchers alighted on one surprising solution to the problem of rat infestation: more rats.
@WillWiles looks at what lessons can be learned from rat ecosystems – for both rats and humans.
Will Wiles - Puss Gets the Boot
Will Wiles: Puss Gets the Boot - Rat City: Overcrowding and Urban Derangement in the Rodent Universes of John B ...
literaryreview.co.uk
Twisters features destructive tempests and blockbuster action sequences.
@JonathanRomney asks what the real danger is in Lee Isaac Chung's disaster movie.
https://literaryreview.co.uk/eyes-of-the-storm