Mallar Chatterjee

I don’t think I’ve actually ever read the Mahabharata from Yudhisthira’s POV, so it was definitely a very fascinating read. I got to see a much more different side of him than the usually depicted truthful and righteous ruler that he was. His slightly fraught relationships with his brothers as well as Draupadi was also an interesting theme to explore. What I found most surprising though was his devotion to Krishna. It’s usually Arjun and Draupadi who are depicted as the true believers of Krishna’s divinity with complete submission, but it was nice to see a similar kind of feeling in a much more restrained Yudhisthira.

The writing style of the book itself took some getting used to. The language of the author felt quite a bit anachronistic in the beginning but I got used to it as the story went out. The book is also not written in any chronological order, skipping between timelines based on whatever topic our POV character wants to talk about. This also took me out of the story a few times, and made me realize that this is not a book that someone who is not overly familiar with Mahabharata will enjoy.

However, it was still an engaging read for the most part and can be enjoyed by readers who love new interpretations of the epic - though be prepared for a lot of internal monologuing. The next book in this series is from Shakuni’s perspective and to be honest, I’m quite intrigued by the idea and hopefully will be able to get to it soon.… (more)