Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

What can I say? Palace of Illusions is so beautiful, I am lost for words.

Its not like I wasnt expecting it to be amazing. I was. Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is one of those authors I pick up when I see on a bookshelf, no questions asked. Her books are magical and mystical, written in a lyrical style quite different from most authors. Her writing is mature and beautiful - she crafts worlds that I and my mother, women of two different generations, can enjoy and love. What I admire most is how well she takes certain concepts, and manipulates them into something beautiful. She takes fantasy and she brings it into India. And in Palace of Illusions, she does something even more difficult - she takes one of the oldest tales in the world (the Mahabharata) and she re-tells it so beautifully that she can make the heart break with pure awe. Because she does something that I've always wanted to see done - she portrays the Mahabharata from a woman's point of view - and not just any woman, the most pivotal woman of all - Draupadi, Panchaali, the woman with five husbands, the cursed and the destined. 

 First things first - the characterization is spot-on. Read this book, and you will fall in love with Draupadi, no matter what problems you had with her before. I for one never thought of her as a villain, but I recommend this book to anyone who doesnt share my view - and everyone who does. But its not just Draupadi who shines as a character. Divakaruni manages to make almost all the characters real for me - from Bheem and Karna (both of whom I hadnt thought much of before reading this book, and fell in love with both of them by the end), Yudhishtir (he saved himself in my eyes by the final thing he does in the book) to Arjun (who I didnt like as much, but who was still an amazing character) - to Nakul, Sahadev, and Kunti - and for that matter even Duryodhan, Drona and Bheeshma (all of whom were on the other side of the epic) battle. But the character I loved the most was Krishna. Krishna has been my favorite since years, but this book, and his relationship with Draupadi, took my love to a new high. None of the characters are unblemished and purely heroic (in a book about gods!) but in that they become truly lovable. All the interpersonal relationships are also wonderfully etched - you can learn from the way Divakaruni shows Draupadi's relationships with each of her five husbands, her brother, her mother-in-law, her forbidden lover, the other wives of her husbands and her sons. 

The book also added a lot to my understanding of the Mahabharata. I've grown up hearing the Mahabharata from my grandfather, but I'd thought before that it was a rigid, impractical sort of war - a righteous war that did not fit with my world view. The book made the war much more alive and real to me. Divakaruni does not mince words and she doesnt save characters - all your favorites can be dishonored when the very real game of war begins. I think you might enjoy the book slightly more if you're already fairly familiar with the Mahabharat - there are some tricky points that you might miss otherwise, and a lot of major battles and victories that Divakaruni skims over, because they are simply not things that Draupadi would pay attention to or know. Also many in-references can be found inside the book, like a mention of how "Krishna was out looking for a gem," that you wont understand because she wont explain them. While this should not detract from the experience of someone who hasn't read the Mahabharata, it will certainly be more enjoyable for those more familiar with it. 

I don't know if you would enjoy the style. Divakaruni has a very, very unique voice (I catch myself thinking, writing and speaking in the same lyrical way for days after reading one of her novels). Its written in first-person view, but it often has moments like, "But I knew later that this was not true." I generally avoid such books, but this is one of my favorite authors, after all and I believe she makes it work (it helps that you might know most of the story already - you are more re-discovering than discovering all this for the first time). She writers poetic prose but it still seems to fly - I finished the book in two days and I felt like I couldn't stop until it was over. I honestly believe that its a work of art more than it is a book - everything, from the font of the chapter heads to the cover to the writing is meant to immerse you more deeply into the world of these characters.

Final thoughts: It has been way, way too long since I cried after reading a book. And I teared up multiple times during this book. That should really speak for itself. But if it doesnt - its the stunning re-telling of an age old epic, great characterization, drastic change in the point of view and beautiful writing. Read it. 

Other thoughts: When I re-read this review, I kept thinking stuff like, "oh, I forgot to add how much I loved Dhri! Or Dhai Ma! Or how awful the lac house thing was!" - which is just further proof that you should read this book.

Also, I shifted list day to next week. Exams! -sigh-

Arranged Marriage by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

Arranged Marriage, by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, is what I'd call heart-breakingly beautiful.

(I prefer the cover of the book which I had, the red variant of this cover.)

This is a collection of short-stories, mostly about Indian women living in America. I wanted to buy it as soon as I saw it in the bookstore, because Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is one of the two Indian english authors whose new books I pick up at the bookstore without even looking at the back cover. (The other is Jhumpa Lahiri, who is another brilliant author.) This is a rather old collection, written sometime around the time that I was born (it is, in fact, her first collection of stories), and still these stories have not become outdated or any less touching. This book, like almost every other book by this author, has not failed to deliver.

I really enjoy the style in which the author writes. She has a way of writing with a peculiar rhythm, which I remember one reviewer describing as giving the impression of being translated from another, more exotic tongue. Her writing can transport you far, far away, and her writings have a way of blending fantasy with realism in a strange way. Her writing style is so distinctive that for at least a few days after reading a novel by her I can neither write or think without doing so in the same, definite rhythm in which she does. Somehow, her words give you a surreal experience, while remaining, at their roots, grounded in reality. She has mastered the art of giving the reader a 'powerful emotional experience' (coined by writer Randy Ingermason and believed by him to be the key of writing successful fiction) and she can take you from elated to crushed in a matter of minutes. In fact, one of her stories had me almost hating one character for having an affair, and then simultaneously hoping that the other would have one under almost identical conditions, which is quite remarkable in itself.

Her characters are all very well-written. Most are women, most are Indian, and most are living in America. And yet they all come out from the page as different, some accepting their circumstances, some rebelling, some even liking the way they are living. There are stories about the cultural shock between India and America (which exists even now), stories about important life changes, stories about morals and values, and with her masterful writing Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni makes all her characters gray in their morality and still very, very understandable and like-able.

The plots of the stories are ones that everyone can empathize with. Drawing nourishment from basic human emotions like love, duty, and anger, the roots of these stories are very deeply set in the human heart, and the trees that grow out are able to reach the stars that the author aims for. You are left with the feeling that there is more to this story, that this world is dynamic and these characters will continue on with their lives, which I feel really adds to the story experience. (Also, at least one of these stories goes on to become the novel that hooked me on to this author in the first place - the book I consider to be her masterpiece - The Sister of My Heart).

Final thoughts: I think you might love this book if you're Indian, love it if you are a woman, and love it even if you are neither. Tragic, gorgeous, well-written - definitely worth a read.

Other news: Almost finished with Of Human Bondage, by Maugham, and I'm looking forward to writing a review on it, but I may go with Marr's Ink Exchange first.

A glimpse into my bookshelves...

So, what with tests and everything, I haven't really gotten a chance to update my blog. However, here's a little quick glimpse showing you what I've read in the interval, what I'm reading right now, and what I plan to read in the future.

Reading:

Of Human Bondage
- W. S. Maugham

I picked it up from my school library mostly because I'd been meaning to read it since last year, when I read and really enjoyed William Somerset Maugham's 'The Luncheon.' So far its a fascinating read. You can expect a review sometime after the 11th of July. Earlier if I read it faster, but I doubt I can.

Update 8th July: I finished the review here.

The House of Seven Gables and The Scarlet Letter
- Nathaniel Hawthorne

Another author I picked up because I enjoyed his short story (David Swan) when I learned it last year. I really enjoy his writing, his ideas give me shivers, but the books are slow and this one has been taking me a phenomenally long time to read. I think I'll finish it just as soon as I have nothing else to read. You can expect a review sometime in the next month, at least for the House of Seven Gables, if not for the other one.

Just finished:

Arranged Marriage
- Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is one of my favorite Indian English writers. (My other favorite is Jhumpa Lahiri.) I really enjoyed this collection of hers. Its sad, touching, beautiful. She writes with a rhythm and a certain style that I've never seen replicated, and her stories take you far away and seem fantastical even as they expose you to the dirty underbelly of human nature. You can expect a review of this story sometime in the next week.

Updated July 5th: My review of Arranged Marriage.

Ink Exchange
- Melissa Marr

I read this book with two misconceptions - that it was the first book in the series and that it was good. Unfortunately, I found that it was neither. While the first did not hamper my reading of the book, the second definitely did, and I was pretty much put off. My review of the book can be expected sometime in the next week, provided I can find the words to describe just why I was so repelled by this book.

Updated 9th July: I wrote this post here.



Pygmalion
- George Bernard Shaw

We have this play this year in school, and I read finished it yesterday. I really enjoyed it. It is quite a beautiful story, even if it seems both a little disjointed and the ending is a little abrupt. I look forward to studying it in more detail in class (and seeing 'My Fair Lady') before I review this book, so I believe this review cannot be expected before the end of this year (at the very least.)

I want to read:

Two States
- Chetan Bhagat

When Five Point Someone, One Night at a Call Center and Three Mistakes of My Life came out, I confess I was as smitten as everyone else in the country. However, since then my appreciation of Bhagat's writings has worn off a little bit, and having received less-than-stellar reviews of this book I've been avoiding it. However, mom recently bought it and she says its absolutely hilarious, so I'm going to read. When? Now that's another story.

White Tiger
- Aravind Adiga

I've got mixed opinions about this one. Some people have told me that this a horrible book, written for that particular group of people who like to read about India's poverty. However, someone else tells me that this book is very beautiful and very moving. I must confess that I'm quite eager to form my own opinions about this book. So far, I'm unable to predict a date for the review of this book.

Well, that's about it from my bookshelves for now. I'll see you next week when I have time to read more than school books. Until then, keep reading! :) (Oh, and if you want to recommend a book to me to add to my bookshelves, please leave me a comment).