In this volume the Indian novelist R. K. Narayan, who has
previously produced a prose rendition of the Ramayana, presents an
unadorned summary of the tale of the great rivalry between the five
Pandava brothers and their evil cousins, the sons of King
Dhritarashtra. No unprecedented contribution - creative or
scholarly - to the literature dealing with India's great epic will
be found here. The book's lack of novelty is compensated for,
however, by the simple and straightforward grace of Narayan's
retelling, and by his good sense to stick with the frame-story and
to ignore entirely the countless digressions of the original. The
flow of the narrative is sometimes marred by the author's tendency
to interject that "the Mahabharata may be said to be a tale of
conflict" or whatever. Such interruptions suggest to the reader a
college-outline plot-summary, and noticeably diminish the power of
this story of deceit and vengeance. Nonetheless, Narayan's
Mahabharata is a fine introduction to the mythology of the epic,
particularly for those who have had no previous background in
Indian classical literature. The interested reader will find here a
painless dose of what may then inspire a true addiction. (Kirkus
Reviews)
The Mahabharata is some 3,500 years old and is the longest poem in any language. It is one of the founding epics of Indian culture and, with its mixture of cosmic drama and profound philosophy (one small section forms the BHAGHAVAD GITA) it holds a unique place in world literature.
In this drastically shortened prose rendering, Narayan uses all his extraordinary talents to convey to a modern reader why this is such a great story. Filled with vivid characters, obsessed with the rise and fall of gods, empires and heroes, Narayan's MAHABHARATA is an enormously enjoyable experience and the perfect introduction to the otherwise bewildering Indian cosmology.
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