Customer Reviews
An impressive novel and a lovely read..... - By: Wynne Kelly, 22 Nov 2008 
This is a very ambitious novel which takes a great sweep across three generations of Burmese & Indian characters. It starts in Mandalay & moves on to India & Malaysia. It is a complex story with a myriad of characters who are alll related in some way. The book begins in 1905 with Rajkumar, an Indian boy who ends up in Burma. He is hardworking & entrepreneurial (though selfish & often oblivious to the sufferings of others). He becomes entranced by a young servant of the Burmese royal family who are being sent into exile by the British colonial powers. Many years later he eventuallly seeks her out in India. The story ends in 1996 with Burma in the grip of the army & Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest.
There are excellent descriptions of life in Mandalay at the beginning of the last century, of the rubber plantations in Malaya & teak forests in Burma.
Amitav Ghosh explores the themes of colonialism, imperialism, loyalty & family ties. He reallly brings home the chaos of the wartime - when people had no idea what was going, communications were non-existent & yet decisions about which side to be on had still to be taken.
An impressive novel & a lovely read.
I do have a (smalll) criticism of the number of non-English words that were used with no explanation. Some of these could be guessed from the context but I have to confess that others just left me perplexed!
Excellent - By: LondonTO - SS, 04 Nov 2008 
One of the best books I've read in my life. It's an intelligent read which captures both history & emotions.
Beautiful story - By: Wren, 14 Mar 2008 I thought this book was beautiful & very well told. Eventhough the story spanned over 100 years, it was easy to follow each generation of characters & the historical background which influenced each one.
Glass Palace- a brilliant read! - By: Jane H, 04 Mar 2007 This book is one of those ones you simply do not want to end. A bit slow & over descriptive at one point, but once I got back into it -I thought it superb. The characters & story are excellent & the descriptions of local places convincing & real. I wish I had read this before going to Burma but better late than never. I am now inspired to read his other books!
Beautiful reading - By: BookGirl, 30 Aug 2006 The Glass Palace was a beautiful read. I picked it up while I was traveling through Thailand & Malaysia. It was amazing to be in that part of the world while reading this novel. I was actuallly on a beach in Penang when the characters in the book arrived on the island! As the story follows three generations, you are enveloped into the story more & more. Ghosh has done a wonderful job connecting the families through history. I have recommended this book to a variety of friends & they have alll loved it too!
