My Book Reviews

Category: Mythology

  • Ganga and Shantanu (Epic Love Stories #2) by Ashok K. Banker

    Ganga and Shantanu (Epic Love Stories #2) by Ashok K. Banker

    Ganga

    Ganga and Shantanu (Epic Love Stories #2) by Ashok K. Banker
    Release: July 7th 2012
    Format: Paperback
    Publisher: Westland Books
    Source: Amazon

    Ganga


    Ganga and Shantanu Synopsis:

    A LOVE STORY WRITTEN ON WATER
    A king of a powerful race in an ancient age falls in love with a woman. What he does not realize is that she is no ordinary woman; she is the incarnation of the great Mother-Goddess River Ganga or Ganges herself. Compelled to take human form for one lifetime as the result of a curse, she must commit a series of terrible unspeakable acts in order to free herself from the curse and return to her true state. The curse forbids her from confiding in her human husband, who is unable to comprehend why she must act so cruelly. Finally, her awful tasks completed, she returns to the natural state of water whence she came.

    But she cannot abandon her human lover without one final gift: the gift of a son, and a most unusual son at that. This story, and the events it sets into motion, sets the stage for the great war and clan-conflict that is at the center of the great epic story-cycle of the Mahabharata. But in itself, it is also a beautiful, heart-breaking yet ultimately inspiring tale of love beyond boundaries and forms. A love story written on water. Retold by Ashok in his Mahabharata Series, this stolen tale of love and loss will break your heart even as it reveals a facet of love rarely witnessed by mortal eyes.

     

    Review:

    While I enjoyed this story much more than “Shakuntala and Dushyanta” (because there’s a lot more happening with the plot here) I really didn’t care for both the characters and their relationship.

    I wouldn’t classify Ganga and Shantanu as an “Epic” love story because both the characters seemed to be more in lust for each other. They were both physically attracted to one another, and Ganga was just fulfilling the promise she made to the Vasus. In fact, majority of this book was bordering on erotica using these two mythological Gods. For example, Ganga throws her first born into the river, and Shantanu grieves for a moment, but the very next minute, gets lusty feelings for Ganga and thrusts his groin against hers! At least in the first book, Shakuntala loved her husband and sacrificed a lot for him. This book didn’t have much character development. Also, because it is a short novella of less than 80 pages, there wasn’t much time to get invested in these characters.

    I always enjoy Ashok Banker’s style of writing. The author can take even a normal mundane story and turn it into a crisp, vibrant tale with rich dialogue. He has recreated this famous Indian tale from the Mahabharat and beautifully described the settings and the characters. He has made the pivotal moments more dramatic and enjoyable. However, I found this book to have a few grammatical errors, and wish that the publishers spent more time proof-reading.

    Overall, I enjoyed reading this book, but felt it was not an apt story for this series.

  • Shakuntala & Dushyanta (Epic Love Stories #1) by Ashok K. Banker

    Shakuntala & Dushyanta (Epic Love Stories #1) by Ashok K. Banker

    Shakuntala

    Shakuntala & Dushyanta (Epic Love Stories #1) by Ashok K. Banker
    Release: July 6th 2012
    Format: Paperback
    Publisher: Westland Books
    Source: Amazon

    Shakuntala


    Shakuntala & Dushyanta Synopsis:

    The classic tale of “Shakuntala and Dushyanta” has enthralled Indians for millennia. The retelling in Banker’s “Shakuntala And Dushyanta” follows a middle path between Vyasa’s and Kalidasa’s versions. Now retold in Ashok’s inimitable epic style, this short novella also forms a part of the larger epic Mahabharata Series. Ashok Banker specializes in retelling stories of great Indian epics and classical works. In “Shakuntala And Dushyanta”, he tells the story of the couple whose son gave the country its original name, Bharata.

    Review:

    This was a nice quick read which I felt could have been better.

    Frankly, I was a bit disappointed in finishing this book. I really didn’t feel it was very ‘Epic’. I felt that Dushyanta was a coward for giving equal importance to his throne as he did for Shakuntala. It didn’t seem like he really risked anything to be with her. In the end, I didn’t feel like he deserved her at all However, I loved Shakuntala’s character and wanted to read more about her. The author has perfectly described the hardships she endures in order to be with Dushyanta. Furthermore, I felt that the novella was too short and there was room for more details. For instance, I really wanted to read Bharata’s point of view of the incidents taking place. I also wanted to read more about Vishwamitra and Menaka.

    One issue I had with this book was there are many mythological words that readers (new to the world of Indian Mythology) may not understand. There are no glossary terms provided for readers to refer to. The author tends to overuse these terms profusely in the beginning of the story, making it look old fashioned. Due to this reason, it took time to get absorbed in the story and clearly visualize the settings. For example, such sentences are difficult to picture if you don’t know what Garuda or khadira is.

    “Despite its ponderous rumbling, the chariot was drawn by powerful bhoja stallions and capable of achieving great speeds, often compared to the swiftness of Garuda by those who observed it from afar.”

    “Magnificent bilva, arka, khadira, kapitha and dhava trees grew in great profusion”.

    While I appreciate the author using such words to build the grandeur atmosphere, it seems clustered and unnecessary at times. However, these words beautifully build the magnificence in some scenes, particularly when Shakuntala meets Dushyanta in his throne.

    Ashok K Banker is a great storyteller for bringing back Indian mythology for the new generation. Somehow, “Shakuntala and Dushyanta” didn’t leave any significant impact, probably because of the above reasons. Kunal Kundu has done an amazing job with the cover design. The cover immediately attracts the readers to pick up the novel. Overall, this is a good start to the “Epic Love Stories” series but I hope the succeeding novellas are better.