The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

The Palace Of Illusions

by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni 

     

     I decided to start my journey with my motherland, India. India is known as the land of Gods and the epic Mahabharata is a well known text. Parents tell their children bedtime stories from this ultimate epic.

    

Book Summary- 

     Relevant to today’s war-torn world, The Palace of Illusions takes us back to a time that is half history, half myth, and wholly magical. Narrated by Panchaali, the wife of the legendary Pandavas brothers in the Mahabharat, the novel gives us a new interpretation of this ancient tale. 

     The novel traces the princess Panchaali's life, beginning with her birth in fire and following her spirited balancing act as a woman with five husbands who have been cheated out of their father’s kingdom. Panchaali is swept into their quest to reclaim their birthright, remaining at their side through years of exile and a terrible civil war involving all the important kings of India. Meanwhile, we never lose sight of her strategic duels with her mother-in-law, her complicated friendship with the enigmatic Krishna, or her secret attraction to the mysterious man who is her husbands' most dangerous enemy. Panchaali is a fiery female redefining for us a world of warriors, gods, and the ever-manipulating hands of fate.

Review-

     The story is written in simple yet touching way. The war of Mahabharata was fought between Kauravas and Pandavas. The epic Mahabharata is a third person perspective of this war. The author writes the story through the point of view of Panchaali. The story is enthralling becuse it catches hold of the leader by engaging him in the awe of ancient hindu culture. 

     Many characters from the Mahabharata text, like Lord Krishna are considered as Gods in Hindu culture. The book narrates the entire mythical world in a fictitious way making it amusing and pleasurable for the reader. 

     The book will shine light on the ancient Hindu culture and is a must read for people who want to know more or start learning about ancient India.

Recommended for- Fiction Lovers, People with interest in  ancient mythological stories of                                           India.

Other recommended books for readers

• Jaya Mahabharata by Devdutta Pattanaik
• Scientific dating of Mahabharata War by Dr. P V Vartak
• Mrityunjaya- The Death Conqueror by Shivaji Sawant

Rating-

• Easy to Read/Beginner Reader Book-                       5/5
• Fall in love with the character-                           4/5 
• Cliffhanger/ Wont be able to put down-           3.5/5

                                                                         

            

Reading the World and WorldsWords

         Around the end of December 2017, I came up across a TED Talk by Ann Morgan, here is the link



          We actually do read books from a few countries or stick to books from our motherland. We always listen this, "Knowledge is Power". I felt that by sticking to a limited number of authors we are really limiting ourselves to this immense pool of powerful knowledge. We are missing on a lot of amazing stories and experiences.
           So with my Kindle, a Library subscription and a nice book seller who agreed for me to get books on a minimal charge of just 30 INR/book-  to read and return, I decided that from 2018, I will try to:

     Read The World

P.S.- Why just stick to reading them. Here is WorldsWords. A simple page for quick book reviews, by a casual reader who turned into a voracious reader.

Instagram- worlds._.words