The Palace of Illusions

~4.5

Everyone Indian kid would have read Mahabharata or atleast know what it is about. The Pandavas and their beautiful wife Draupadi, the Kauravas, the war, Bhagavat Gita.

I wanted to read this book ever since I knew this story would be said from Draupadi's voice. I never given Draupadi much thought. Yea I pitied her for the disrobing part and was angry at the Pandavas for this. Yea I was kind of satisfied that Draupadi had 5 husbands when it is usually other way around. I felt angry when Draupadi was the first to fall and the reason was that she favored Arjun the most. I never cared much about her because she followed her husbands like lap dog and it seemed that in ancient India that is the protocol.
Opinions of wives don't change a show more think. It's funny, these wives will one day be mothers. When that happens they are bodies of greatness and their thoughts shape the world.

"Remember that, little sister: wait for a man to avenge your honor, and you'll wait forever."

First time when I read the kids version of Mahabharata I didn't give a second thought of the harsh and cruel life she lived. I had given more thought on Kunti. Maybe because Draupadi was never voiced much. Maybe because all the Amar Chitra Kathakal that I read had the same pattern- when woman lives miserable and hard life, it feels good in your mouth and gives off a romantic vibe.What's more romantic than a beautiful, slender woman ready to depend on you for her entire life? Or maybe because of all those old tales that had wives following their husband because it was their dharma.

Anyway, I wanted to hear how she would be voiced. I knew I would see her in a stronger light and more human. I wasn't wrong there.

I did enjoy her voice. At the beginning I feared for the incidents that might happen. I felt like screaming don't do it! don't do it! every time she began i didn't know it then..., as if my internal screaming would change the already written story.

It's kind of funny, now that i think, does all woman think If i had married xyz, my life would have been better???
I am sure they do.
Draupadi kept thinking If i had married Karna... even at her last breath.

And that brings me too Karna. Yea I know what Karna did to Draupadi was obviously not good. I got angry, but that didn't stop my younger self from falling for him. He is the most beautiful, righteous, pitiful person I have read till then. I was utterly broken each time I read how he died. I couldn't stop thinking about him days after I read the kids version. Every time there was story about Karna in my Hindi text book, my insides warmed and grew heavy at the same time.
In fact, Karna could have been my first book boyfriend.

It's funny, reading how Draupadi felt for him.
This story could be seen as a lovestory that never happens.

I am sure of one think, if Karna is real and living, he would have thousands of Indian woman doting over him. In fact i think i am again going to fall for him. show less

The Palace of Illusions is a retelling of the ancient Indian epic, the Mahabharata, from the perspective of the wife of the five Pandava brothers. It is a feminist reimagining told through the eyes of a fascinating female protagonist, Panchaali (Draupadi). The novel begins with her unusual birth from fire, and follows her life, which is marked by prophecies, passions, exile, war, and multiple tragedies.

This is a beautifully written novel. Divakaruni's prose is lyrical. She creates an atmospheric flowing narrative that weaves together mythic and historical events with intimate personal moments of Panchaali's inner life. Panchaali is intelligent, proud, and determined to forge her own destiny despite the constraints placed upon women in show more her society. We learn about Panchaali's complicated relationship with Krishna (the mortal incarnation of Vishnu), her conflicted feelings toward her five husbands, and her forbidden attraction to Karna (her husbands’ enemy).

The titular palace is built by the architect of the gods for the Pandavas. It serves as a metaphor for the impermanence of power and wealth, and perhaps life itself. I must admit that I have heard of the Mahabharata but have not read it. Despite this lack of familiarity, I easily became immersed in this story. I’m sure it would provide even more insights for those who know the epic well. It speaks to contemporary concerns about gender, power, and self-determination. It has inspired me to seek out more information about the original. show less

I'd give it six stars if I could.

Peak reading experiences come all too seldom in life. I think one knows it's a peak when it's almost too painful to endure that the book is ending, but almost too painful to endure to put it down and turn out the light. Then the book comes to you in your dreams, the characters and the situations work their magical way into your receptive dream-mind, and make not only waking hours painfully happy with the reading or anticipation of reading but the sleeping hours more vivid and more real and more alive than ever.

That's what happened to me as I read The Palace of Illusions. I've dreamed of its characters, I've lived vicariously its plot and its many eventful twists for a month of nights, and I truly can't show more express to you how much pleasure it's given me to do so. I wish for everyone that experience, if not with this book then with another, and soon. It makes a whole new level of appreciation come, or come back, to you when you come across one of these books.

I have had the life-changing experience twice before, and I still treasure those memories. I will treasure this one equally. I suppose the idea of the book, retelling a classic Indian foundational myth called Mahabharat from the point-of-view of a female character, is in keeping with today's popular trend of reimagining myths from all angles and stances. I certainly am aware that telling any Indian myth from a female point of view is a departure from the cultural norms of that society, and to be applauded for that reason alone; but what Divakaruni wrought in doing this is nothing short of creating a new foundation myth on the stones of the old one.

I think a woman who has five husbands wished on her as she comes into this world from a fiery column is worth hearing more about; so did Divakaruni; and thus the tale told here. The myth merely mentions her in passing, which is a curious piece of patriarchal doublethink that never ceases to amaze me when I encounter it. A little like Eve's untold story in Christian myth, and the odd absence of Hera stories as separate from Zeus and his philandering. Extraordinary men need extraordinary women, and simply not telling me-the-reader about them doesn't make them not exist; it merely hides them in deep and scary shadows until a woman with the right eyes comes along, sees the real story, and sets about telling it.

We are all of us readers the richer for Divakaruni's gift of this book to us. I do not, however, recommend it to all readers; I don't think its power is in its broad appeal but in its complete appeal. I suspect that some whose reading preferences are more aimed at comfort and at the satisfactions of reinforcement and reassurance would find this an unpleasant book to read. But I truly wish for each of you that you give it a try, let it at least make a start on working its beautiful enchantment on you. I hope it will be able to speak its way into your dreams the way it did mine. show less

The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is unlike any book I've read before.. It begins with the main character and her brother being born in fire in a religious ceremony, with it foretold that she will change the course of history, and he will avenge their royal father. Had I picked up (on Richard's recommendation) a fantasy, or a romance, or some hybrid creation?

Nope. This novel is derived from the Indian epic The Mahabharata, and has a vast scope that Homer would have enjoyed. The author has prized loose the female story threads from the epic and rewoven them into a compelling novel. Although there are many fantastic occurrences along the way, the story is driven by basic human urges - love, ambition, pride, vengeance show more and resistance to oppression. Princess Panchaali will not be treated as a dependent girl, and mostly successfully insists on receiving a man's education like her brother Dhri. Over time she'll prove the cleverest and most dominating of them all, save perhaps for the divine incarnation Krishna, who cajoles and criticizes her, in a kind way, from a loftier perspective. She increasingly realizes how important his presence is to her, and I always found his appearances in the book uplifting, too.

Important promises are made and broken, a kingdom is stolen by trickery and through weakness, and vengeance is sworn. Panchaali improbably is married to five husbands at once, as is foretold, and finds her way to the dream-like Palace of Illusions created in the desert, beautifully described by the author. Some who are high are brought low, and fight to regain what they had lost. Panchaali balances her own thirsts for revenge with her obligations to her husbands and her people, and struggles with exchanging her ardor and anger for the more tranquil and far-reaching views provided by Krishna. She has a strong voice and develops a prickly reputation because of it. Like a reverse Helen of Troy, her curse on the unrighteous may lead to a massive war. The fight will not be over the beauty of Panchaali, but over the truth and irresistibility of her anger.

Yet we believe in and follow Panchaali for smaller reasons provided by the author - her thwarted love for another, her struggles with male oppression and court politics, her sense of honor, her love for the beautiful palace, her wisdom when faced with difficulty, her recognition of her faults.

"The princess who longed for acceptance, the guilty girl whose heart wouldn't listen, the wife who balanced her fivefold role precariously, the rebellious daughter-in-law, the queen who ruled in the most magical of palaces, the distracted mother, the beloved companion of Krishna, who refused to learn the lessons he offered, the woman obsessed with vengeance - none of them were the true Panchaali.

If not, who was I?"

I was caught up in the same question. And the question of how Panchaali fit within the ethical and religious threads of The Mahabharata woven through the story. Like Homer's Greek poems, this is a brave and bloody story. As epic battles rage, who are the real winners and losers? The finale of the book brings it all into a buoyant and beautifully rendered perspective that flat knocked me out. show less

I should say from the outset that all of the reasons that I didn't give this book five stars have much more to do with me than with the book itself. This is excellent, and I would highly recommend it to anyone. Divakaruni is a top-notch writer. Her descriptions are detailed and evocative without being overwhelming. Her psychological insights are deep, shrewd and compassionately portrayed. The story is complex, but she does a good job of moving it along.

This is a retelling of the Mahabharata from the point of view of one of the supporting cast, Panchaali. And, this is the point where I become a problem. I am aware of the Mahabharata, but I don't know it. This type of story is often a great way of taking a fresh look at something show more familiar, and I'm not familiar with this story. The amazingly complicated political manouverings lost me early on. As a non-Hindi-speaker, there were too many names that were too similar, and I had a hard time remembering who was on which side of the current dispute. I appreciated the story that I read, but I know that I missed a lot.

I also miss out because I'm not Indian. Choosing to tell this story from the perspective of a woman has meaning. How does this reflect the lives of Indian women? Are they alienated from this national epic, and reclaiming it in this way? Or is Panchaali's bitterness at being always controlled by the men in her life, and her rebellion against her powerlessness something that resonates? Marriage is the central event of most lives, and Panchaali has a complex situation. (For reasons that only make sense in myth, she has five husbands.) What do other Indian women make of this? I simply don't know.

The question that Panchaali asks first and last, is whether Krishna is a god or not. Why is this so important? Is it a theme of the original work? Does it reflect some kind of intra-Hindu debate? As a non-Hindu, I'm only aware of Krishna as a Hindu god. Is there some question about this?

Obviously, this book left me with more questions than answers, in a very good way. I highly recommend it. show less

This unique perspective of the Mahabharata, from a woman, was so beautiful and refreshing! I loved this retelling, because I felt like I had a little more insight to the story outside the battle and the telling of the Gita.
Draupadi's narrative on Kunti, her relationship with her sons, on karna and his attitude to everyone, the inner nuances in the palace - it was so well presented and perfectly paced. I was moved to tears during the battle as well. I also enjoyed how Krishna's divinity was described, so subtle yet so poetic. 5 stars!

Spin me a story that pulls its foundation from an ancient epic tale and I will either be completely enraptured or bored out of my mind. The good news is that Divakaruni’s recasting of the Mahabharata – the epic Indian Sanskrit story – caught my attention right from the start and never let go. This mystical tale is a rich tapestry of all things that make a story spellbinding: emotions of unrequited love, deception, greed and envy; peopled with sages and other semi-divine beings, wise kings and righteous warriors; a prophesy that foretells a major change, heroic deeds and magical weapons, all told in true epic proportions. I have never read the [Mahabharata] so this review does not provide any kind of “compare/contrast” but I show more have to say that Divakaruni’s has a wonderful way of taking fantasy characters and making them appear as real, flesh and blood individuals. The setting is beautifully depicted, making it possible for me to glimpse the “Palace of Illusions” in all its wonder. Of course, I am also a fan of epic tales where the lead is a strong female. Draupadi is a dynamic character, even if she does have her moments of self-serving pride and arrogance. The story never lets up, racing the reader along at a steady clip as Draupadi journeys towards her destiny.

A truly epic tale and a very worthy read! show less