Author: Amish
No. of Pages: 565
Publisher: Westland
Year of Publication: 2013
About the Book:
The Oath of the Vayuputras is the third and last (Thank God!) of the Shiva trilogy written by Amish Tripathi. The story continues from the previous books but they were written so long back that it is almost impossible to remember the details of the first two books. You would have to go back to the previous two to know the connects. He has thus also ensured that you can’t just pick up a book from the trilogy at random.
The story of Shiva and Sati continues. Surprisingly, while in the first book he had drifted away from mythology and created his own fictional tale, in the final one, he seems to be going back to the common mythological stories. Further, he has tried to retrace steps to what are popularly held notions about the origins of different religions from a common belief system. For no apparent reason, thus, Zoroastrianism appears in the story. The discussion on the history of the religion and its followers contributes in no possible way to the plot. And since this is not an isolated digression, I am tempted to believe what I have already expressed in an earlier blog, that he is going out of his way to show his skills. In this case, researching about religions and mythologies.
The novel is painfully slow and far too detailed to capture attention. This has led me to change the format of my blog and substitute ‘Reading Time’ with ‘No. of Pages’. An averagely interesting book would have taken me far lesser time to read. However, I realised that interests vary and thus I leave it to you to decide how much time you want to spend reading the 560 odd pages of narrative.
What I found more captivating than the story is the way he has given vent to a state of confusion that the average, educated Hindu-Indian faces everyday- of believing in mythological stories (and Gods) that defy logic or refuting schooled knowledge to continue to believe in Gods that are worshipped around you. His narratives, admittedly, provide you an interesting take on mythology and perceptions about God. His attempt at providing logical interpretations to mythological twists are both creative and interesting.
Besides I appreciate his acknowledging the many people who have helped him write the book, particularly his mention of the cover designer, model etc.
Final Analysis: If you have read the first two, then I don’t really think that you can avoid reading this one. If you haven’t, please don’t bother reading.
My blogs on the earlier books can be accessed at the following links:
Book 1: The Immportals of Meluha
http://kitaabikhazana.blogspot.in/2011/09/immortals-of-meluha.html
Book 2: The Secret of the Nagas
http://kitaabikhazana.blogspot.in/2011/10/secret-of-nagas.html
Favourite Quote: None