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zayouxx's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
informative
reflective
fast-paced
4.25
lavalierre's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
tense
fast-paced
3.75
daljit's review
3.0
Considering the Mahabharata is the lengthiest epic poem in existence it was quite surprising to see the size of this book. And when this book says it's a shortened modern prose, it really means its shortened. Almost all important events in this epic tale are rushed through, omitted or merely mentioned, which was quite disappointing. If I weren't familiar with the story, I wouldn't have been able to keep track of everything that was going on. I wasn't sure what to expect before reading the book but I'd thought there would be some literature experimenting, alas it's much more of a summary, which is disappointing to get from the writer of The Guide. In comparison, The Palace of Illussions by Chitra Banerjee Divakurni had much more of that mythical and mysterical touch to the epic prose. Nevertheless, because it is not such a long book it might be an excellent filler for anyone who might want to get familiar with this heroic tale. It is much more the story I liked than the writing, which unfortunately cannot be attributed to the writer.
spacestationtrustfund's review against another edition
2.0
This review is of the translation by R.K. Narayan.
This is a very abridged version, not even 200 pages. A decent introduction, I suppose, but certainly nowhere near comprehensive.
This is a very abridged version, not even 200 pages. A decent introduction, I suppose, but certainly nowhere near comprehensive.
becksri29's review
4.0
Fascinating... Wish I had the opportunity to read this back in HS freshman English lit to compare critically with Homer's Odyssey. East vs. West, the different pantheons of gods, the meaning of the underlying challenges to our heroes, treatment of women... Especially because now I feel a bit too lazy to write the kind of analytical essay I would have churned out at the age of 14. Anyway, I feel like this should be read by more Western readers, at least as an intro to non-western philosophy.
samkc's review against another edition
3.0
A shortened version of an epic story. Gives you basic understanding of the characters and background stories that led to the battle of Mahabharata.