What do you do when you get from one of your favourite publisher, a book that catches your attention at first glance? Of course you read it! And that is exactly what I did with Ravi Shankar Etteth's The Brahmin. Exceptionally done in greys and black, the Brahmins shines as an individual cover amongst the many. One look at the book and you surely want to read this Masterpiece and so you go to read what the book is all about.
About the book- It is the time of violence as well as calm. Men of Peace are spreading the message of the Buddha even as monks are being tortured in the Dungeons of Patliputra. In Magadha, all task is about the impending war against Kalinga. While King Ashoka plots the movements of his ships and cavalry, Queen Asandhimitra broods over the growing unrest in the kingdom. There is only one man we can both trust to take them through this period of uncertainty and looming danger there is only one man they can both trust to take them through this period of uncertainty and looming danger: the enigmatically named Brahmin skillful spymaster and custodian of Magadha’s best kept secrets. Lush with historical detail and unforgettable characters the Brahmin is an intricately plotted novel that seeks to recreate a near mythical period in India's past.
Yes, Oh yes who does not like to read about historical fiction. Especially among the very different kind of historical fiction present in today's market when you get something about King Ashoka, who I should mention has been one of my favourite people to read about in childhood in history textbooks, this book is surely a not miss. So with all these Expectations in my mind, I started this book and god this book didn't disappoint. We all know King Ashoka to be a ruthless king who changed, yes of course who changed but what happen during those times, and probably in the mythical way what exactly was the reason for sudden change? What triggered all these effects that you like only on history books, The Brahmin is sure that we take a different side of the story back with us.
Talking about the flow of the story, I would have to say that this is one of the best written historical fiction that have read off late. It maintains a steady flow throughout out the book, from the first page to the last and of course in the last pages the page quickens as the mystery throughout the whole holds solved. In such a historical fiction book which is lengthy, you are sure to have a lot of characters. These characters, you have to take a lot of time in remembering and understanding.
Tell me about the characters, I loved the portrayal of all of them. The best part about this book is that if you have to talk about One character then automatically another character comes. So to speak about all the characters specifically it would make this review very lengthy. To shorten that I would like to say that the entries and exits of the characters were exactly one point, barring a few which I feel could've been handled in a better way.
The way the author has dealt with history and fiction and mythology in this whole book is commendable, in turn, giving full justice to every single word that is written. Speak about the cons of the book, I will have to say that this book was too long for my liking and that is why I personally took so much of time in reading this book. If this book would have been a little shorter and crisper then I guess this would have gained all my accolades. For now, looking forward to more books from the author in the future I would give this 4.25 out of 5.
No comments:
Post a Comment