Reviews

The Ramayana: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic by R.K. Narayan, Pankaj Mishra

pan23's review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

A decent rendition. Missing much of the romantic details and so much of the philosophy is cut short for sake of brevity. Understandable, but still disappointing. Will be searching for better versions. 

garawill's review against another edition

adventurous inspiring fast-paced

5.0

jasonlesher's review against another edition

adventurous fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

cvall96's review against another edition

4.0

surgically precise re-telling of the RAMAYANA; very "just the facts ma'am"

meliagelinas's review against another edition

3.0

Read it for school... better than I was expecting. After I got about half way I started to actually understand what was happening

rodneywilhite's review against another edition

5.0

This is more of a prose novelization than a translation (and of Kamban's Tamil translation/adaptation rather than Valmiki's Sanskrit original). I can't speak to its accuracy or veracity as a representation of the original text, but it is a very entertaining read and made the story very clear, accessible, and exciting.

allie_oop's review against another edition

ran out of time

eainala's review

5.0

I loved this story. It's one of the great Indian epics - something that I think everyone should read. This version is very easy to understand and is a quick read.

afarre01's review against another edition

3.0

I'm glad that I read this book but I can't say I really liked it...more like I respect it because it is a classic piece of literature (like the Odyssey).

wildfaeriecaps's review against another edition

4.0

Enjoyable and concise. I look forward to the Oak Meadow lessons my eldest will be doing with this book next school year.