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srivalli's review
medium-paced
2.0
2 Stars
One Liner: Oh, well; got a few good things, though
The book is a collection of tales from Hindu epics retold in contemporary language for middle-graders. It starts with the creation of the universe and ends with the Mahabharat battle. Given the versatility of our epics and the countless versions available, there will always be contradictions and discrepancies in the events presented.
Furthermore, this book is a super simplified version, which means we have cookie-cutter retellings in many cases. The book also has lots of action and drama, some of it bordering on absurd. Despite the author’s notes at the end of each story (which are quite interesting), the content, as such, feels removed and distanced from its culture. There’s too much ‘prophet’ and stuff in there that sounds really weird. A few forced attempts at parallels too.
Krishna’s stories are rather well-written (with a lot of creative liberty), which makes me think that the author has a special love for him. Not surprising. Hard not to fall for Krishna’s charisma.
I like the inclusion of Kannagi’s story, something native to the author’s native state. This is a very good touch. The book also has B&W illustrations. Some are real good, and a few are okayish.
However, given the extent of misinterpretations that already exist, I’m not sure if this book would exactly help in clearing any of them.
A few aspects I noticed:
- Sita is seen washing Ravana’s clothes and humming in Lanka where she was held captive. Ugh! Too much creativity (cringe types).
- Also, Rama and Sita were technically married for a decade or so before they went to the forests for 14 years. Most retellings remove the time gap between their wedding and Kaikeyi’s demand to grant her boons for convenience.
- Pandu’s five children weren’t Kunti’s. She had only three. Nakula and Sahadeva belonged to Pandu’s second wife, Madri. And all five were boons from the gods (not Pandu’s).
- Karna was adopted by a charioteer with links to a royal lineage. Contrary to the popular opinion, suta is not a sudra. They were also Kshatriyas (more like a sub-category of the Kshatriya varna). Today’s caste system cannot be equated with the varnas back then.
- Also, Karna is more than a decade older than Arjuna. Dhuryodhana wasn’t Arjuna’s colleague. They weren’t in a corporate office. The Kauravas and Pandavas were cousins.
- The story of Ganesha (no elephant god, please!!) is quite different from what we read every year during Ganesh Chaturthi. Needless to say, I like the version I know (mainly coz it is much more dramatic and has more lessons to offer).
- How Hanuman (no monkey god, please!!) finds Sita in Lanka is a special part of Sundarakanda. This one in the book reads like a badly scripted daily soap. *shudder*
- Samudra manthan or churning the ocean was done with a mountain (mandara) not a tree. Also, Vishnu took kurmavatar (a tortoise) when they realized that the mountain was slipping due to a lack of solid foundation at the bottom. The mountain was held in place by the gigantic tortoise. Many items came up during this process. Amritam (ambrosia) was the last to come out.
The writing is easy to read and follow. I can see this being an easy book for kids and adults. Except that the content is not something I’d recommend to anyone who has no idea about Hindu epics. This would fare much better when the reader knows at least one or two older versions. And most importantly, someone who knows that retellings are categorized as Fiction.
To summarize, Love, Pride, Virtue, and Fate is an interesting collection of Hindu epic retellings but something to take with an entire barrel of salt.
My thanks to the author, Bharat Krishnan, for a complimentary copy of the book. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
***
P.S: Though the book doesn't cover the topic of Holika-Dhahran, I'll add that Holika is king Hiranyakashipu's sister. She is not a Bahujan or dalit who was burnt alive by the gods. Both Holika and Hiranyakashipu were brahmins born to Rishi Kashyapa and Diti, his wife.
Holika has a boon that fire doesn't burn her and decides to help her brother kill her nephew (Prahalad) for worshipping Vishnu. Because of her ill intentions, her protection shawl (the one that saved her from fire) slips off her shoulders when she fits in the firepit with Prahalad (who was 5-6 years old) on her lap and she ends up burning to death. It’s what people call a classic case of karma.
In fact, Ravana and Balichakravarthi were also born to brahmin sages. Asuras are not dalits. Please spare us modern-day activism.
jayati's review
3.0
If you’re looking to read more about the Hindu mythology and enjoy it, you’ve found the correct book.
Love, Pride, Virtue and fate is a collection of short stories of the Hindu Mythology which are fun and easy to read. They are gripping and entertaining and it was a breeze getting through them!
The book is actually very easy to understand and is also perfect if you’re just starting to learn a little bit about Hindu mythology – I certainly learned a lot about Indian mythology from this book.
Moreover, the writing is great and the pacing is perfect which makes the book appealing and fun to read.
I really loved the book!
Love, Pride, Virtue and fate is a collection of short stories of the Hindu Mythology which are fun and easy to read. They are gripping and entertaining and it was a breeze getting through them!
The book is actually very easy to understand and is also perfect if you’re just starting to learn a little bit about Hindu mythology – I certainly learned a lot about Indian mythology from this book.
Moreover, the writing is great and the pacing is perfect which makes the book appealing and fun to read.
I really loved the book!
ninetalevixen's review
4.0
I received an advance review copy from the author; all opinions are my own and honest.
Mythology is one of my favorite subjects to read about it, especially when the author manages to make it their own as Krishnan has done here! (The author's commentary following each story is a bit reminiscent of [b:Percy Jackson's Greek Heroes|23349901|Percy Jackson's Greek Heroes|Rick Riordan|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1413406290l/23349901._SX50_.jpg|42907836], but intellectual / philosophical rather than snarky.)
I can only imagine how tricky it is to organize so many conflicting versions of so many interwoven, overlapping stories into a coherent narrative, yet Love, Pride, Virtue, and Fate makes it look simple. The four titular themes are explored in various incarnations, along with comparisons to the Christian Bible and Greek mythology; there are also parallels to the Chinese folktales I grew up with, which further supports the author’s point about the similarities across human history and culture.
Overall, this is an engaging read that I think will appeal to readers of any age and any level of prior knowledge of Hinduism; Krishnan has made these stories really accessible without sugarcoating or oversimplifying the messiness inherent to mythology.
Mythology is one of my favorite subjects to read about it, especially when the author manages to make it their own as Krishnan has done here! (The author's commentary following each story is a bit reminiscent of [b:Percy Jackson's Greek Heroes|23349901|Percy Jackson's Greek Heroes|Rick Riordan|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1413406290l/23349901._SX50_.jpg|42907836], but intellectual / philosophical rather than snarky.)
I can only imagine how tricky it is to organize so many conflicting versions of so many interwoven, overlapping stories into a coherent narrative, yet Love, Pride, Virtue, and Fate makes it look simple. The four titular themes are explored in various incarnations, along with comparisons to the Christian Bible and Greek mythology; there are also parallels to the Chinese folktales I grew up with, which further supports the author’s point about the similarities across human history and culture.
Overall, this is an engaging read that I think will appeal to readers of any age and any level of prior knowledge of Hinduism; Krishnan has made these stories really accessible without sugarcoating or oversimplifying the messiness inherent to mythology.
dinibharadwaj's review
5.0
Note: I received a free digital ARC of the book via the author in exchange for an honest review
I love all things Hindu mythology and when an opportunity to read this book came along, I just couldn't resist. It's quite small and I got through the entire collection in a span of mere hours. The stories are accompanied by some adorable illustrations too. My favourite part was the little author's note at the end of each story in which he discusses the themes and the motivation behind including them.
Hindu mythology has an abundance of source material, with 18 volumes of Puranas alone containing stories that are contradictory in nature. To distil them into crisp short stories with a clear beginning and end is an extraordinary feat. The author has definitely done his research and it's evident that each story has been compiled with care. I was familiar with almost all the stories, having heard them multiple times during my childhood and reading this collection filled me with nostalgia. My favourite story was 'Fate', which follows a South Indian female protagonist, Kannagi. I'm not very familiar with the myths from South India (even though I'm South Indian myself, which is a shame) and I really want to explore these stories in depth in the future.
I would highly recommend anyone looking for an introduction into the vast world of Hindu mythology or culture to pick up this book. I was listening to The Indian Jam Project while reading this and had to stop because I was so overwhelmed by the beauty and variety in the Indian culture that I cried actual tears of joy and pride. This one definitely makes it to my favourites shelf!
I love all things Hindu mythology and when an opportunity to read this book came along, I just couldn't resist. It's quite small and I got through the entire collection in a span of mere hours. The stories are accompanied by some adorable illustrations too. My favourite part was the little author's note at the end of each story in which he discusses the themes and the motivation behind including them.
Hindu mythology has an abundance of source material, with 18 volumes of Puranas alone containing stories that are contradictory in nature. To distil them into crisp short stories with a clear beginning and end is an extraordinary feat. The author has definitely done his research and it's evident that each story has been compiled with care. I was familiar with almost all the stories, having heard them multiple times during my childhood and reading this collection filled me with nostalgia. My favourite story was 'Fate', which follows a South Indian female protagonist, Kannagi. I'm not very familiar with the myths from South India (even though I'm South Indian myself, which is a shame) and I really want to explore these stories in depth in the future.
I would highly recommend anyone looking for an introduction into the vast world of Hindu mythology or culture to pick up this book. I was listening to The Indian Jam Project while reading this and had to stop because I was so overwhelmed by the beauty and variety in the Indian culture that I cried actual tears of joy and pride. This one definitely makes it to my favourites shelf!
kayaj's review
4.0
An incredible ownvoices collection of Hindu myths! My full review will be up on my blog the week of publication :)
dany_ambivertwords's review
4.0
I received an e copy of this book in exchange of my honest opinion.
This is an own voice review.
As an Indian Hindu , I grew up with these epics and Bharat krishnan has an amazing voice to tell these stories. And every story has an author's note of why he chose to write this and the importance of each story is marvelous.
Love , Pride , Virtue and Fate is an interesting anthology of Hindu epics. Or handy guide to Hindu religion if you may. This book explores the essence of Indian culture through the legends. This book has a story of why parents always come first and the importance of Duty and the importance keeping a promise , which is basically the trifold of being a proper Indian irrespective of religion.
I loved how the voice of the story was neutral throughout the book which made the impression of the story better.
Love Pride Virtue and Fate is the best book for
Mythology geeks
Hindu folks in search of a good summary book
And short story fans if you may.
The stories have small link with each other but the epilogue sums up how everything is connected in God's moves on the great war of Mahabarata.
This is an own voice review.
As an Indian Hindu , I grew up with these epics and Bharat krishnan has an amazing voice to tell these stories. And every story has an author's note of why he chose to write this and the importance of each story is marvelous.
Love , Pride , Virtue and Fate is an interesting anthology of Hindu epics. Or handy guide to Hindu religion if you may. This book explores the essence of Indian culture through the legends. This book has a story of why parents always come first and the importance of Duty and the importance keeping a promise , which is basically the trifold of being a proper Indian irrespective of religion.
I loved how the voice of the story was neutral throughout the book which made the impression of the story better.
Love Pride Virtue and Fate is the best book for
Mythology geeks
Hindu folks in search of a good summary book
And short story fans if you may.
The stories have small link with each other but the epilogue sums up how everything is connected in God's moves on the great war of Mahabarata.