Besides being a huge fan of any novels about ancient secrets, I love books by Indian authors that interpret Indian mythology in a new way e.g. offerings by Amish Tripathy and Krishna Udayasankar. As far as the epic Maharbharata goes, Bheem and Arjun have cornered major portion of Pandava's fame. The eldest sibling, Yudhisthira, though portrayed as the epitome of virtue and justice, has never been able to shake off the stigma of being the one to wager, and lose, his wife in a game of dice. That single act has eclipsed his whole character.
So when I saw this book on the library aisle I wondered about what new interpretation the author has managed to give to the tale of Mahabharata in general, and to this much-maligned Pandava in particular. Alas! I was in for a mighty disappointment! This thick book simply narrates the old story, with a few stray sub-stories that you probably would have missed during your childhood days. No new interpretation whatsoever. Why the author felt the need to retell the old story, which almost every Indian knows by heart, I cannot fathom. In my humble opinion, the book also fails to adequately address the range of emotions that Yudhisthira must have felt, his struggles and conflicts, his dilemmas and doubts, his wins and failures. It simply doesn't tale his side of the story fully.
I rarely fail to finish any book. But I stopped reading this one even before I reached the halfway mark. If I have to read the epic itself, there are far better sources. :-(
So when I saw this book on the library aisle I wondered about what new interpretation the author has managed to give to the tale of Mahabharata in general, and to this much-maligned Pandava in particular. Alas! I was in for a mighty disappointment! This thick book simply narrates the old story, with a few stray sub-stories that you probably would have missed during your childhood days. No new interpretation whatsoever. Why the author felt the need to retell the old story, which almost every Indian knows by heart, I cannot fathom. In my humble opinion, the book also fails to adequately address the range of emotions that Yudhisthira must have felt, his struggles and conflicts, his dilemmas and doubts, his wins and failures. It simply doesn't tale his side of the story fully.
I rarely fail to finish any book. But I stopped reading this one even before I reached the halfway mark. If I have to read the epic itself, there are far better sources. :-(
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