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The Queens of Hastinapur
Sharath Komarraju
2017
pp. 350 (read kindle edition)
Harper Collins
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  (Available on Amazon for preorder) |
The book is the third in a series of book that Komarraju is writing, presenting the story of Mahabharata from the perspectives of women in the epic. It is quite incredible that Sharath has picked up not the chief characters that others have already taken up, which are the obvious choices of Kunti and Draupadi. While their tales were equally invaluable, the story from the perspective of Ganga, Gandhari, Amba, among others. It is an interesting take on an epic of this scale and requires both a strong imagination and a detailed read of the epic to be able to write such a narrative.
The writing is lucid and engaging. I was apprehensive at not being able to understand the text since I hadn’t read the first two books in the series. Though I still maintain that I would have been better off if I had read the first two books, this one can also be read as a standalone. There is some familiarity with the story which helps in reading the book, yet the writing is a refreshing take, one that I haven’t come across in other reads of the epic.
The book is not as quick a read as I have found some of the other work by Komarraju. Yet, it is worth a read. The book has the potential to help you to disconnect with the world and for sometime, the reading will help you to disengage and unwind. Any book that allows you to do so, is powerful writing.
Every book has a story
This came as a surprise to me since the author allowed me a pre release read. Thanks to him to give me a sneak peak.