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Loading... Ramayana, The: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic…by Anonymous (otherwise under R. K. Narayan)
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will love Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. I like this mythology better than our Greek and Roman stuff. Narayan is a great writer, too. (  ) xine2009 | Sep 27, 2009 |  A much better translation than the one by Lakshmi Lal. It seems to humanize Rama much more than Lal's more literal rendering. Rama (and Lakshmana, and Ravana), seem to have actual motivations, rather than simply roles in a pre-scripted drama. Narayan clearly has some of the same questions about Rama that I do. His interjections into the narrative don't resolve my confusion about Rama's character, but I think they help. For example, when Rama kills Vali from hiding without any direct provocation, Narayan expresses doubt about whether it's actually right, and why Rama tries so hard to justify it after the fact. (  ) aneel | May 10, 2007 | Since the Ramayana itself is quite long, full of descriptions of food and other non-plot essential things, the editor abridged it by retelling it completely. Imagine someone hitting the high points of 'The Odyssey', and that's what you'll have in this book. It's very easy and fun to read, and is an excellent teaching tool. The Ramayana itself tells the story of Rama (one of Vishnu's avatars) and his marriage and quest to rescue Sita, his wife. This is one of the great Hindu epics, and has other beloved characters like Hanuman the monkey. Highly recommended for an intro to Hinduism. ( ) violabelle | Dec 10, 2006 |  no reviews | add a review
Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0140187006, Paperback)A sweeping tale of abduction, battle, and courtship played out in a universe of deities and demons, The Ramayana is familiar to virtually every Indian. Although the Sanskrit original was composed by Valmiki around the fourth century BC, poets have produced countless versions in different languages. Here, drawing on the work of an eleventh-century poet called Kamban, Narayan employs the skills of a master novelist to re-create the excitement he found in the original. A luminous saga made accessible to new generations of readers, The Ramayana can be enjoyed for its spiritual wisdom, or as a thrilling tale of ancient conflict.(retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:58:17 -0400) The first test round has been closed. Visit the Open Shelves Classification group for details. |
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