Has anyone read 'The Palace of Illusions'?

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_BacknForth_

@_BacknForth_

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+ 3

Posted: 11 years ago

There's this bestseller by Chitra Bannerjee Divakaruni, which tells the Mahabharat from Draupadi's point of view.

I came across it two years back. And whoa, it got me! ⭐️
It's more like a novel, and goes on to explore some very interesting aspects.

Just wanted to know if anyone else has read the book?

Edited by _BacknForth_ - 11 years ago

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lovesunshine

@lovesunshine

Voyager

Posted: 11 years ago

Me I have read it..n loved it...i had earlier posted a thread here about it but no one answred ..i'm glad now I found someone who also has read it..

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_BacknForth_

@_BacknForth_

Inactive

+ 3

Posted: 11 years ago

Originally posted by: lovesunshine
Me I have read it..n loved it...i had earlier posted a thread here about it but no one answred ..i'm glad now I found someone who also has read it..

Oh yay! 😃
That was the book that got me obsessed initially.
It all seems so natural, and obvious there, dosen't it?

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lovesunshine

@lovesunshine

Voyager

Posted: 11 years ago

yes it is predictable ...but what i loved in it is the way the krishna darupadi relation is portrayed in it..remeber one instance when draupadi had suicidal thougths n she was almost leaning over in balcony of viraat kingdom's palace? n she saw the face of krishna among villagers on the street n she stopped...that was lovely thought as any woman who has gobne through all this is now serving as a daasi would at some point have such suicidal thoguths..the writer was brilliant in it..

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Annie

@Star_girl

Sparkler

Posted: 11 years ago

I have. Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is brilliant. I love how she plays on the infamous ( ? ) Karna -Draupadi angle. What can I say, I always hoped for Panchali and Karna to be together. They make much more sense than those brothers. 😆 Sharing between brothers? Just no. Give me a Karna any day. 😉

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Janaki

@RamKiSeeta

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+ 6

Posted: 11 years ago

I read it but didn't like it. Too much creative liberty was taken.

Though I did like the friendship of Krishna and Draupadi...but I didn't like the whole Karna-Draupadi angle. It was unrealistic.

In the end of the day, it's just a fictional novel. The accuracy of the story was only 20%.

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Annie

@Star_girl

Sparkler

Posted: 11 years ago

Originally posted by: JanakiRaghunath
I read it but didn't like it. Too much creative liberty was taken.

Though I did like the friendship of Krishna and Draupadi...but I didn't like the whole Karna-Draupadi angle. It was unrealistic.

In the end of the day, it's just a fictional novel. The accuracy of the story was only 20%.

Yes, it was not supposed to be accurate. The Karna-Panchali angle was based on some of the folk-songs sung around remote places of India. Since, I always wanted Panchali and Karna together, I loved it. 😊

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Janaki

@RamKiSeeta

Achiever

+ 6

Posted: 11 years ago

Originally posted by: Star_girl

Yes, it was not supposed to be accurate. The Karna-Panchali angle was based on some of the folk-songs sung around remote places of India. Since, I always wanted Panchali and Karna together, I loved it. 😊

I guess Karna's fans would love. 😆 I'm not a huge fan of Karna so didn't like the creative liberty that was taken with the story, but I can definitely see how others might like it.

Not just because of the Karna-Draupadi angle...I am very iffy about people taking creative liberty with mythological stories, even if they write it in "novel" format. That's why I did not like Ashok Banker's Ramayan series either. A little bit of creative liberty is fine, but when authors change the personalities of important characters, it really bothers me.

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Bhavaani

@Bhavaani

Voyager

+ 3

Posted: 11 years ago

🤣The book made no sense at all! How on earth could any woman with sense stay in love with a man who literally called her a prostitute and asked for her to be stripped naked. So much "creative" liberty was taken that the characters whom I love and respect were utterly unrecognisable to me 👎🏼 I hope people don't start clammoring for Draupadi and Karna here because fyi it didn't happen 😊

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Annie

@Star_girl

Sparkler

Posted: 11 years ago

#10

Originally posted by: JanakiRaghunath

I guess Karna's fans would love. 😆 I'm not a huge fan of Karna so didn't like the creative liberty that was taken with the story, but I can definitely see how others might like it.

Not just because of the Karna-Draupadi angle...I am very iffy about people taking creative liberty with mythological stories, even if they write it in "novel" format. That's why I did not like Ashok Banker's Ramayan series either. A little bit of creative liberty is fine, but when authors change the personalities of important characters, it really bothers me.

Haha, really? Yes, then I totally understand why you did not enjoy the book. If you were Bengali, I would have suggested for you to read Satninath's Bhaduri's analysis of Mahabharat characters. That is possibly the best analysis of them you will ever find, true to the original and wonderfully nuanced. Just like the book itself. Karna, I feel, is more of a favorite because while reading Mahabharat, I always felt that even the author had a bit of soft-corner for Karna himself. You will notice how his soft corner is evident in some of the passages. 😊 My favorite is both Karna and Krishna btw. I am not religious, and hence I try to understand Krishna as a highly complicated human being. He is one of the most fascinating characters. 😊

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Has anyone read 'The Palace of Illusions'?

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