Critical Praise

"Eloquent…Fascinating…[River of Smoke's] strength lies in how thoroughly Ghosh fills out his research with his novelistic fantasy, seduced by each new situation that presents itself and each new character, so that at their best the scenes read with a sensual freshness as if they were happening now."

—Tessa Hadley, The Guardian

"[This] vast book has a Dickensian sweep of characters, high- and low-life intermingling… Ghosh conjures up a thrilling sense of place."

—The Economist

"On one level, [River of Smoke] is a remarkable feat of research, bringing alive the hybrid customs of food and dress and the competing philosophies of the period with intimate precision; on another it is a subversive act of empathy, viewing a whole panorama of world history from the ‘wrong' end of the telescope. The real trick, though, is that it is also fabulously entertaining."

—Tim Adams, The Observer (London)