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The Conch Bearer

by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni (Goodreads Author)

3.71 of 5 stars 3.71 · rating details · 13,272 ratings · 1,865 reviews

In a dingy shack in the less-than-desirable Indian neighborhood he calls home, twelve-year-old Anand is entrusted with a conch shell that possesses mystical powers. His task is to return the shell to its rightful home many hundreds of miles away. Accompanying him are Nisha, a headstrong but resourceful child of the streets, and a mysterious man of indeterminate age and sur...more

Paperback, 265 pages

Published February 22nd 2005 by Aladdin

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Apr 09, 2013 Richard rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been revised and can now be found at Expendable Mudge Muses Aloud!

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

like 53 likes · see review

Sep 23, 2010 Mery rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Mery by: e.c.h.a

Shelves: punya

Aku selalu suka sama kisah yang mengangkat sudut pandang berbeda dari seorang perempuan. Dan Drupadi ini dengan sukses telah menghipnotisku dengan kehidupannya yang penuh liku-liku...

Drupadi adalah titisan Dewi Agni, yang diramalkan akan mengubah sejarah...
Pada bab-bab awal Putri drupadi diramalkan bahwa dia akan menikah dengan lima pahlawan besar pada zamannya, akan menjadi ratu dari segala ratu, dicemburui para dewi. Akan menyebabkan perang terbesar, kematian kakak dan anak-anaknya, akan menye...more

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Mar 20, 2010 Thesunan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: goodreaders

Recommended to Thesunan by: dapet minjem dari mumut

buku pinjaman dari tante Mumut.. :)

PROLOG (boleh dilewat soalnya rada2 OOT :D)
-----------------------------------------
Pertama kali saya tahu ada cerita tentang Mahabrata adalah waktu saya SD, film Mahabrata pada waktu itu ditayangkan oleh salah satu stasiun televise swasta, yang memang dulu sempat mendapat julukan sebagai Televisi Pilem India, soalnya stasiun televisi tersebut sering menayangkan film India. Namun saya sendiri kurang tahu tentang sejarah cerita tersebut, hanya beberapa tokoh saj...more

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Jun 15, 2010 Mia Queen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: cerita-cinta, inspiring, touch-of-asia, bikin-sesak-nafas, historical-romance

Bisa dibilang saya merasa beruntung bisa membaca buku seindah ini. Terlebih lagi sedari SD ayah saya yang juga pecinta buku rutin menghadiahi saya buku Mahabrata karangan R.A Kosasih. Kaget juga karena di usia saya yang sekarang, kurang lebih 20 tahun lewat sejak pertama kali mengenal tokoh Pandawa lima, ternyata saya masih mengingat garis besar kisah Mahabrata ini

Istana khayalan benar-benar membuat saya berkhayal jauh, seakan-akan saya ikut berada dalam Hastinapura, ikut bersimpati dengan Drop...more

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Feb 15, 2010 e.c.h.a rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Mbak Mia, Momo Ivashkov

Shelves: romansa, epos, fiksi, milik-sendiri, divakaruni, favorites, satya-artwork

Pfuih.....OK...

Buku ini telah memikatku dalam banyak hal:

Pertama, Cover yang menarik. Yup, terkadang mata saya suka sekali dengan keindahan cover suatu buku. Perpaduan warnanya seperti membawa saya ke Istana Khayalan. Cover aselinya juga keren..I Love Green :)

Kedua, tokoh utamanya yaitu Drupadi. Saya suka Drupadi. Saya mengenal sosoknya saat membaca Mahabharata. Yang sedikit diceritakan *plus saya skimming juga* tapi sukses meninggalkan bekas di hati.

Ketiga, kata pembuka yang dikutip Divakaruni...more

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Mar 18, 2010 Harun Harahap rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Harun Harahap by: e.c.h.a

Shelves: punya, fiksi, terjemahan

--------------Mengandung spoiler kisah cinta-cintaaannya-------------

”Masalah hanya menjadi masalah kalau kau percaya itu masalah. Seseorang melihatmu seperti kau melihat dirimu sendiri.”

“Kekuatan keyakinan seorang merembes kepada orang sekitarnya-ke dalam tanah, udara, dan air-sampai tak ada lainya.”

Itu hanya beberapa kutipan-kutipan menarik yang banyak disajikan di dalam buku ini. Halaman depan yang sangat indah membuat diri saya tak sabar membuka lembaran demi lembaran dan menikmati isnya. Da...more

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Aug 21, 2010 Shalyn rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is another book introduced to me through my book club. In short, nine people trapped in a crumbling building after an earthquake share stories about themselves to pass the time and distract themselves from the desperateness of their situation. In considering it, we read the synopsis and I remember thinking, "so is this supposed to be a kind of modern remake of The Canterbury Tales?" Then, sure enough, the character of the book that suggests the story-telling does so because she is a fan of...more This is another book introduced to me through my book club. In short, nine people trapped in a crumbling building after an earthquake share stories about themselves to pass the time and distract themselves from the desperateness of their situation. In considering it, we read the synopsis and I remember thinking, "so is this supposed to be a kind of modern remake of The Canterbury Tales?" Then, sure enough, the character of the book that suggests the story-telling does so because she is a fan of Chaucer's work. I was only a tiny bit disappointed by this predictable turn but continued reading.

The transition from the story of the earthquake that binds these characters together to the individual's stories seems forced, but the tales of the characters are mostly interesting. It bugged me that the point of story-telling was for each character to tell about "one amazing thing," and yet for the most part, the stories are not of anything particularly amazing or unique. The stories are just everyday life, but perhaps the author is trying to make a point in so doing and it just escaped me. The first story is like a mini wartime movie, the next was more like a tv movie, the next perhaps an episode of a tv show, the next an afterschool special, etc. Even the last story, which actually uses the title phrase "one amazing thing," was a rather ordinary, familiar story.

I got the feeling this book was kind of experimental, like maybe it was a first novel. I discovered later that the author is more known for her short stories, and that makes sense since the book read like a set of short stories strung together by the framework of the earthquake story (although apparently this is not her first novel). Some of the stories would benefit from some additional character and plot development. The work is dotted with metaphors and similies that lack flow, as if an editor said, "this passage could use a little more imagery," and a brief phrase describing something else was the easy way out of the criticism. Also, the author has a tendancy to throw in a $10 word from time to time, even though an everyday word would work just as well if not better in those instances -- I'm not sure why authors do that.

Rereading this review, even I get the feeling that I didn't like this book, but that's not true. I did enjoy these characters and their stories. I did enjoyed the stories of the characters and see a lot of promise in the author's work. I just think this particular work was perhaps published too soon, before it was fully developed.(less)

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Dec 31, 2010 Helvry Sinaga rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Selama masih hidup di dunia fana ini, kita tidak akan luput dari kesalahan. Dari kesalahan yang dilakukan, terbagi menjadi kesalahan yang disadari maupun kesalahan yang tidak disadari. Orang bijak adalah orang yang belajar dari kesalahan.

Pernahkah anda memasuki suatu lingkungan baru yang sama sekali berbeda sekali manusia maupun sosialisasinya dengan lingkungan sebelumnya? Pernahkah merasakan dimana lingkungan baru tersebut begitu menyesak, sehingga setiap hari terasa lama dan itu membuatmu mala...more

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Aug 24, 2008 Crystal rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Just a petty complaint:
I'm in the middle of this book and have a strong enough sense of the story to be able to make a heart felt plea: enough of the blatant foreshadowing! It's as if the author has no other creative or subtle use of language to hint at things to come. It always involves the last sentence of the chapter, starting with the end of Chapter 1, "I didn't know then how sorely that love would be tested, or how much it would cost both of us", "I didn't know that I'd never see this fragr...more

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Apr 07, 2011 Sweetdhee rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: haratis, bahasa-indonesia-terjemahan, punya-lagi-dipinjem

hmm.. saya merindukan seseorang seraya membaca buku ini..

Divakaruni memperkenalkan Mahabaratha kepada saya
Kisah yang saya ingat pernah ditayangkan di stasiun Televisi Perdangdutan Indonesia, itu pun hanya bagian lagu pembuka nya saja..
hihihihi

Saya mengetahui Mahabaratha hanya bahwa itu adalah kisah tentang Pandawa Lima
Itu pun sekedar nama dari kelima nya, tanpa mengetahui detail cerita seperti apa
Walaupun saya akhirnya mengetahui sedikit dari sosok "Pandawa Lima" jadi-jadian waktu kuliah..
*yang...more

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Mar 17, 2009 Aastha rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I was intrigued as soon as I heard the plot of The Palace of Illusions, and I knew I was going to like it right away. I think Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni deserves three out of the five stars I gave her just for thinking of the idea itself. The Mahabharata has been part of India's ancient culture and history for the past 3000 years, and yet no one ever thought of narrating the epic from a different point of view.

Of course, I personally cheered at her choice of Draupadi as her narrator, having give...more I was intrigued as soon as I heard the plot of The Palace of Illusions, and I knew I was going to like it right away. I think Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni deserves three out of the five stars I gave her just for thinking of the idea itself. The Mahabharata has been part of India's ancient culture and history for the past 3000 years, and yet no one ever thought of narrating the epic from a different point of view.

Of course, I personally cheered at her choice of Draupadi as her narrator, having given a lot of thought to the treatment of women in the Mahabharata. Draupadi, or Panchaali, which is what she is called in this book, has been one of the most mysterious creatures in the grand epic. She has five husbands, the five Pandava brothers, but does not have the choice and freedom of a polygamous wedding, as she is passed around from brother to brother, every year. She has always been portrayed as the victim by all the accounts of the Mahabharata I have read, even though the readers knows little to nothing about her feelings. In this book, Draupadi is anything but the victim. She is shown as a fiercely independent, rebellious woman, who wants to take her destiny into her own hands. While her thoughts and actions sometimes made me less sympathetic towards her character, I still felt like she was empowered and strong-willed.

I won't go into the details of the book, as the Mahabharata is quite a complicated saga. However, I will say that it was very refreshing to read the story through Draupadi's gendered lens.

The author did a wonderful job of sticking to the script of the original epic. Had she strayed from it, she wouldn't be according it the respect that it deserves. But as such, she rewrites the story so masterfully, changing nothing but Draupadi's feelings. These were a bit intriguing to me, as her relationship with Krishna and Karna are brought into play. These feelings are not part of the original Mahabharata, and that is about the only liberty she took with the script. I thought they were a nice addition, and it helped make the book a little more universal, because who doesn't like a love story? But I will get into the reasons why I was a bit disappointed nonetheless.

If I had to criticize this book, I would say two things:

--The manner in which gender roles are portrayed is a little constrictive. It seems that the author is a cultural feminist, one who believes that there are differences in the nature of men and women. Men fight wars, display characteristics of aggression, strength, competitiveness and violence. Women use the power of words, and are supposed to be caring, nurturing, motherly, and cooperative. Most South Asian feminist would agree with this point of view, but it would have been really wonderful if Chitra Banerjee had broken through these "stereotypes" a little and ensured that the reader remained more sympathetic towards Draupadi when she did not follow these gender roles, instead of giving off the impression that she is a bad mother and wife. For example, I would have LOVED to read something along the lines of: "well yes, maybe she is negligent of her children, but she never wanted children in the first place; in fact, she never wanted this fate for herself, so it is useless to criticize her for not fulfilling her duty".

--This is a personal thing too, but I have noticed that most women's self-empowerment stories always have to do with secret feelings or affairs that they have with men that are not their husbands. Although that is not the only way that women can empower themselves, but most stories about South Asian women seem to show them in this light. This is not the first (think Brick Lane, Pikoo's Diary). I just wish that Draupadi's feelings for Krishna and Karna had been toned down a bit, to show that illicit thoughts or affairs are not the only way for a woman to empower herself.

Despite this, I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in either women's issues or grand epics. The writing was in no way spectacular, but it portrayed emotions adequately enough. I wanted to read it again as soon as I finished it, and I have a feeling I will never think of the Mahabharata in the same way again. (less)

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Jan 29, 2011 jo rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 9-11, asian-american, south-asia

this is a delicate, almost fragile book, and it won't stay with you the way other books do. it will disintegrate in your memory and all you'll remember is that a bunch of people got stuck in a basement during a california earthquake and, in order to survive, swapped stories. the stories started off sluggish (who wants to tell stories?) but became terribly urgent as the day and night wore on. this is all you'll remember. you won't remember the stories.

the stories are not remarkable. they are not...more this is a delicate, almost fragile book, and it won't stay with you the way other books do. it will disintegrate in your memory and all you'll remember is that a bunch of people got stuck in a basement during a california earthquake and, in order to survive, swapped stories. the stories started off sluggish (who wants to tell stories?) but became terribly urgent as the day and night wore on. this is all you'll remember. you won't remember the stories.

the stories are not remarkable. they are not meant to be remembered. these stories are the stuff of precarious survival and mean much more to the speaker than to the listener. the speaker pours her or his heart in the story because the story is what is holding the speaker together -- never-before-spoken grief, loss, disappointment, regret, a moment of victory, a moment of enlightenment. the story in itself is like an frozen cobweb: it's not meant to endure touch. but in the mind of the speaker the story is as strong as the beams and the rods that kept the collapsed building together and are still preventing it from pancaking on this motley crew.

after each story there is almost no commentary. the story is not meant to be held by the memory of another, only by the memory of the speaker and the evanescent soul of the listening group. this is all the group is meant to do: listen. and the group does.

the stories keep the building from giving.

it is an extra bonus that divakaruni puts such racially, ethically, and religiously disparate people in this group. it is the only less-than-fragile aspect of the book. their difference plays a meaningful role, of course, but only up to a point. the essence of the book is the value of survival -- not only following the earthquake, but especially in the time leading to it.

this fantastic author has been telling fragile stories for a while, but the stories in this book of stories are special. a husband and wife each tell their story. the stories may be devastating but neither spouse changes as a consequence of hearing them. there are no meaningful gestures, ruptures, reconciliations. the stories live in silence. the audience's silence allows the existence of the stories.

we don't often tell stories. i wonder if the chilean miners told each other stories. i like to think they did. i suspect it might be hard to survive so long in a hole underground without telling stories.

it's not that we don't have stories to tell; it's that stories thrive in attentive, uninterrupted, unjudgmental silence. stories ask that advice be withheld. stories don't ask for much. stories ask for absence rather than presence, and we are a fast, active, productive culture. we fill holes. absence makes us nervous.

i wish we were more adept at silence. maybe we can learn. (less)

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Oct 01, 2007 Radhika rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Romance book readers

This book belongs on a Harlequin/ Mills & Boon bookshelf. I picked it up expecting something quite different from the lukewarm and soggy story telling it contained. Perhaps the author was aiming for magic realism but ended up with a mishmash of genres and not one that was well-developed.

The story revolves around a woman who had a weird past that has no real connection to her present. She "inhabits" an old body for no good reason other than she might actually be that old (the book meanders a...more

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Nov 20, 2009 Anindita S. Thayf rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

DROPADI GUGAT
Sumber: Ruang Baca Koran Tempo, 25 Oktober 2009
Judul : Istana Khayalan ( The Palace of Illusions)
Penulis : Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
Penerbit : Gramedia Pustaka Utama
Cetakan : I, Juli 2009
Tebal : 496 hlm

Mahabarata merupakan salah satu kanonik sastra dunia. Naskah asli Mahabarata berbentuk syair sebanyak seratus ribu stanza; delapan kali lebih panjang dibandingkan jika The Iliad dijadikan satu dengan The Odyssey. Naskah yang ditulis oleh Vyasa dalam bahasa Sanskerta ini berkisah tent...more

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Jan 27, 2010 Neha rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Mahabharata through the eyes of its most controversial character - Panchali or Draupadi.. Its an interesting take.. and Chitra Banerjee through her master story teller stroke has done a fair justice to it. Although at time she turns Panchali into a more complex character then she could be. Probably she was just a simple woman with no idea of her significance in history & how she gets caught in the midst of the biggest events in Indian history and how her decisions shape lives of all her love...more

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Apr 21, 2011 Barbara rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I was impressed by the unusual and imaginative premise devised by Divakaruni almost immediately. The plot focuses on a group of unaquainted people who are trapped in a passport office following an earthquake. The author has expertly imparted the emotions and the actions of the nine characters involved.

In order to maintain a semblance of equilibrium and relieve stress among these survivors, it was suggested that each should relate a significant story in his/her life. Each narration was intriguin...more

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Sep 11, 2011 Sweetdhee rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: bahasa-indonesia-terjemahan, punya

satu kesalahan, hanya satu, dan semuanya berubah

apakah ada satu kesalahan yang membuat hidupmu berubah?
kesalahan yang bahkan bukan dibuat oleh diri kita tapi mempengaruhi hampir keseluruhan cara pandang kita pada kehidupan

sudah 15tahun lebih, saya masih berkutat pada penyesalan atas kesalahan tersebut
masih selalu ada "kalau aja" dibenak yang menjadi hantu saat saya memandang hidup
walau sudah coba untuk ikhlas, dan rasanya saya sudah ikhlas, tapi tetap saja, nyaris keputusan-keputusan penting dal...more

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Dec 17, 2009 Charles Matthews rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review ran in the San Jose Mercury News in 2002:

Do you know the sensation of getting near the end of a book and feeling the thickness of the pages left? As the remaining pages of Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni's new novel grew fewer I began to worry: Would there be room enough for what I wanted to know about the characters and their lives?
There was. Divakaruni's narrative in ''The Vine of Desire'' is as gracefully structured as a piece of chamber music, with its interplay of themes and voices,...more

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Dec 06, 2009 Weni rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Dulu saya membaca Mahabharata RA Kosasih. Lalu saya membaca Mahabharata versi Rajagopalachari. Dan buku ini adalah Mahabharata versi Divakaruni.

Kisah mahabharata Divakaruni tidak terlalu berbeda dengan Rajagopalachari. Yang membuatnya menarik (setidaknya buat saya) adalah kita diajak untuk melihat mahabharata dari mata dan perasaan seorang Drupadi. Putri Drupada yang biasanya dihadirkan sebagai sisipan cerita, pada buku ini menjadi tokoh sentral. 'Aku' dalam kisah ini adalah Drupadi sehingga kit...more Dulu saya membaca Mahabharata RA Kosasih. Lalu saya membaca Mahabharata versi Rajagopalachari. Dan buku ini adalah Mahabharata versi Divakaruni.

Kisah mahabharata Divakaruni tidak terlalu berbeda dengan Rajagopalachari. Yang membuatnya menarik (setidaknya buat saya) adalah kita diajak untuk melihat mahabharata dari mata dan perasaan seorang Drupadi. Putri Drupada yang biasanya dihadirkan sebagai sisipan cerita, pada buku ini menjadi tokoh sentral. 'Aku' dalam kisah ini adalah Drupadi sehingga kita seperti ikut merasakan emosinya dalam setiap peristiwa.

Beberapa episode hidup Drupadi yang tidak banyak diceritakan dalam mahabharata versi lain, dikupas lebih dalam di buku ini. Kelahirannya dari api, rasa sayangnya yang sangat dalam pada sang kakak, Drestadumya (dan apa yg melatarbelakangi rasa sayang itu), hubungannya dengan sang ayah, sifat memberontaknya, hubungannya dengan para Pandawa yang menjadi suaminya dan Kunti, dan yang cukup mengagetkan (buat saya) adalah rasa cinta terpendamnya.

Dulu (sekali), yang saya tau, Drupadi menikah (hanya) dengan sulung Pandawa, Yudisthira, meski yang memenangkan sayembara adalah Arjuna. Ketika Drupadi terjatuh dalam perjalanannya ke puncak Himalaya, yang saya tau penyebabnya adalah krn ia sebenarnya mencintai Arjuna, bukan Yudisthira. Drupadi berdosa karena mencintai laki2 lain yang bukan suaminya. Lalu saya membaca buku lain dan mengetahui bahwa Drupadi menikah dengan 5 Pandawa.

Buku ini menceritakan kisah yang lain. Bahwa Drupadi memendam cinta pada laki2 bermata sedih. Cintanya itu tak pernah benar2 padam, meski ia telah mengawini 5 Pandawa. Maka ketika Drupadi terjatuh dalam perjalanannya menuju mahaprasthan dan Bima dengan nelangsa bertanya kenapa, Yudisthira menjawab: "Ia mengawini kita berlima, tapi ia mencintai satu orang laki2 lebih dari siapapun...". Ketika Bima bertanya siapa yang dicintai Drupadi, Yudisthira terdiam sejenak dan akhirnya menjawab: "Arjuna". Kebohongan kedua Yudisthira.

Kisahnya menarik. Cover hijaunya bagus. Harga bukunya diskon 30% di Gramedia BSM. Lalu apa yang membuat saya tidak memberikan 5 bintang untuk buku ini ? :)(less)

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Jan 27, 2010 April rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: for-review, multicultural

One Amazing Thing by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is a smattering of short stories within the context of a larger story. Basically an earth quake hits some town in California, so I think nine people are trapped in the Indian Consulate office. These people are all panicing and unhappy until Uma, a grad student who reads awesome books like The Canterbury Tales comes up with the idea to have all who are trapped share one amazing story from their lives.
Read the rest of my review here

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Feb 18, 2009 Maria M. Elmvang rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: not-owned, 2009, 3-stars, fantasy, arc

Well-written, but I couldn't help thinking something was missing. I never really started caring for the main characters, and the book never 'drew me in' properly - I never stopped being aware that it was a book. I can't put my finger on anything specific that Divakaruni did 'wrong', so I don't know why I lacked sympathy for the characters, but it did mean that while the plot was interesting, I finished the book more out of a sense of duty than anything else.

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Mar 26, 2008 Anu rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: fans of indian mythology, anyone

Shelves: finished

I think Divakurani's short stories are genius-but she ought to lay off the novels. The book wasn't terrible, but there were some ATROCIOUS anachronisms sprinkled throughout and the heavy handed feminism was a bit much. It definitely gained in narrative voice as the plot progressed.

Interesting read, but wait for the paperback, or get it out of the library.

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Mar 17, 2013 Jignasha rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, most-interesting, indian-authors

There was a phase in my life when I would only read Indian authors. I was an international student in London and I guess read Indian authors was how I dealt with the constant ache for home at that time. It was during this time that I read the book sister of my heart and fell in love with Chitra's style of storytelling. I have read most of her works after that. I won a copy of the oleander girl. I was mildly surprised and very excited to get the book.

The story is amazing and doesn't disappoint y...more There was a phase in my life when I would only read Indian authors. I was an international student in London and I guess read Indian authors was how I dealt with the constant ache for home at that time. It was during this time that I read the book sister of my heart and fell in love with Chitra's style of storytelling. I have read most of her works after that. I won a copy of the oleander girl. I was mildly surprised and very excited to get the book.

The story is amazing and doesn't disappoint you for a second. I can't wait to see what happens next in Korobi's journey. Would come back to this review when I finish the book................

Review after completing the book...

Chitra Banerjee is one of my favorite authors. She is gifted for making the art of storytelling a magical experience. To me, this quality of her books, bring back the sweet memories of childhood where I would sit at my grandfather’s feet with a bunch of cousins and an assortment of kids from the neighborhood and the servant quarters, listening to him spinning a magical world of old Gujarati folktales. The difference is, my grandfather’s stories were mostly from the male perspective and most of Banerjee’s stories bring women to the forefront.

The Oleander Girl too is the story of a young women and her journey to find her identity. Korobi, orphaned at birth, is brought up in a traditional Bengali household by adoring overprotective grandparents. She spends seventeen years sheltered in the ancestral home 26 Tarak Prasad Roy Road which characterizes the old charms of the beautiful city of Kolkata. On the other end of the spectrum is the life style of the rich and famous portrayed by the party boy Rajat and his ex girlfriend, Sonia. It doesn’t seem like they have anything in common and you begin to wonder how these two opposite people can fall in love with each other. But the seemingly simplistic young girl Korobi, is not only beautiful but also intelligent and headstrong. It is her stubbornness to make peace with her past that propels her into a journey across the world to find her father, half of her identity, and puts herself and her loved ones in dangerous circumstances.

As relationships are plagued with uncertainties, the undercurrents of racial divide and post terrorism tensions not only create a vivid backdrop but give the story a thriller effect. Oleander girl becomes a personal journey because of its well developed characters and the seamless flow of narrative between these characters. There is the chauffeur who speaks nothing and hears everything, the exuberant little sister Pia, the grandmother Sarojini, soon to be mother in law Mrs. Bose and even the timid Seema who displays some spirit by standing up to her husband, Mr. Mital the villain.
Families can be torn apart by secrets, young and old can make errors in judgment, betrayal is harsh and the road to true isn’t always smooth. The story captures your heart and is a definite page turner. It does all this with the grace of ballerina.

The Oleander Girl totally lives up to my expectations. You can’t help but fall in love with all the characters. I was there with Korobi every step of the way, experiencing her highs and her lows. The path to my uncle’s house is lined with oleander plants. The leaves of these plants have an elastic quality to them so when you join two of them together and snap them they make sound. As a kid I used to play with these leaves and was always in trouble when an adult caught me because of the danger of poisoning. The toxicity of the oleander plant is aptly symbolized in the book.

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Oct 01, 2012 Rosamund Hodge added it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012

This novel ended up reminding me a bit of Till We Have Faces: the basic plot is "mythological woman has passionate, interesting life, eventually finds peace and enlightenment." Except that it's based not on Greek mythology but the Mahabharata, which it retells from the perspective of Draupadi/Panchaali, the princess who becomes (partly) the cause of a cataclysmic war.

I liked it quite a bit. It's a fast read, yet lyrical, and the portrayal of Krishna is fantastic, a really compelling mix of lovab...more This novel ended up reminding me a bit of Till We Have Faces: the basic plot is "mythological woman has passionate, interesting life, eventually finds peace and enlightenment." Except that it's based not on Greek mythology but the Mahabharata, which it retells from the perspective of Draupadi/Panchaali, the princess who becomes (partly) the cause of a cataclysmic war.

I liked it quite a bit. It's a fast read, yet lyrical, and the portrayal of Krishna is fantastic, a really compelling mix of lovable/creepy/unearthly. It's also pretty easy to follow, despite the epic cast--at least, it is if you're 1/4 through Ramesh Menon's mammoth retelling like I am. And I loved the sense of tragedy unfolding equally due to ancient, cosmic destiny, and the very human faults of the characters.

The one big weakness, unfortunately, is the portrayal of Panchaali herself. I like almost all the choices this novel makes in portraying her character (including her thwarted love for Karna, sob!), but she just never quite . . . gelled for me. Like, there's a huge point made of how much she loved her palace at Indraprastha and how a huge part of her desire for vengeance comes from the loss of that palace; yet I never really connected with or understood her love for the palace. As much as I admire how the author managed to squash such a giant epic into such a small space, I wish it had been a little longer, or at least that the second half had devoted a little more focus to Panchaali's interior life.

Also--and this is why I say I like "almost" all the choices the novel makes about her character--the chapters about her childhood spend a lot of time talking about how she's rebellious and inquisitive, she doesn't understand why women can't do everything men can, she isn't like those other vapid girls at court, etc. (1) This all felt vaguely anachronistic to me--though, I know nothing about Indian history, so maybe it isn't; (2) I got tired of the "spunky feminist heroine who is not like other girls" trope when I was twelve; (3) after her wedding, this whole issue disappears except for one brief coda that feels like an afterthought. It felt like the author had added that element just to signal that Panchaali was a Strong Female Character we should like. And did I mention that I got tired of the "not like other girls!" thing when I was twelve? Because I am one of those "other girls," and so are all the women in the world except your special snowflake heroine.

But the ending was beautiful, and you know, I will forgive a lot for a beautiful ending.(less)

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Aug 15, 2012 Charu rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The book at its centre is Draupadi's version of Mahabharat. When I picked this book, I wasn’t too sure, if would relish a book on – battles, power-play, politics, adrenaline-filled glory and carnage. But the authoress had done a tremendous job of capturing the essence of the epic in the form of a story. The authoress had bereft the characters of divine, virtuous status and made them very real and human, which makes it very easy to follow, despite the complexities in the leading characters.

Talki...more

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Sep 18, 2012 Farah rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: short-stories, fiction, reviewed

Life happens.

Kalau gue disuruh menulis sendiri kumpulan cerita untuk buku the Unknown errors of my life, pilihannya cuma dua: satu, bukunya bakalan tebel banget; dua, buku itu ngga akan diterbitkan. Karena gue mogok nulis.

Sama halnya seperti judul dari buku ini, saat berusaha membuat reviewnya pun rasanya gue ngga tahu harus mulai darimana. Darimana kita tahu bahwa itu semua adalah kesalahan-kesalahan yang terjadi di dalam hidup kita?

Darimana semua kesalahan ini berawal?
Sampai mana semua akibat...more

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Apr 17, 2011 Kieran Walsh rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I was a little disappointed with this one. I've always enjoyed the idea of strangers sharing stories and the context here was a good one (random customers/employees of Indian consulate trapped in the basement office building after an earthquake). What was, I had hoped, a Scheherazade type of story series really ended up being, with the exception of one or two, a hodge podge of uninteresting recount of situations (stories, certainly not). For fictional purposes I think ordinary lives could have a...more

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Nov 17, 2009 Uci rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Bertahun-tahun lalu, kisah Mahabarata sempat menjadi obsesi yang tidak kesampaian. Saya sudah keburu menyerah untuk mengingat-ingat silsilah keluarga, nama asli dan nama alias, peristiwa yang susul-menyusul. Akhirnya buku dan majalah pewayangan yang sempat saya beli, tak pernah tuntas saya baca.

Membaca The Palace of Illusions, saya jadi teringat akan obsesi lama itu. Beruntung di tangan Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, tokoh-tokoh dalam kisah ini jadi punya 'nyawa' sehingga saya tidak kesulitan untuk...more Bertahun-tahun lalu, kisah Mahabarata sempat menjadi obsesi yang tidak kesampaian. Saya sudah keburu menyerah untuk mengingat-ingat silsilah keluarga, nama asli dan nama alias, peristiwa yang susul-menyusul. Akhirnya buku dan majalah pewayangan yang sempat saya beli, tak pernah tuntas saya baca.

Membaca The Palace of Illusions, saya jadi teringat akan obsesi lama itu. Beruntung di tangan Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, tokoh-tokoh dalam kisah ini jadi punya 'nyawa' sehingga saya tidak kesulitan untuk mengingat mereka. Apalagi nukilan kisah yang dipilih adalah lakon paling dahsyat dalam epik Mahabarata, yaitu perang Kurusekhtra.

Mahabarata versi India ini memang sedikit berbeda dengan versi Jawa yang saya baca dulu. Drupadi hanya punya satu suami, karena budaya Jawa tidak mengenal konsep poliandri.

Apa pun, epik ini memang luar biasa. Begitu banyak makna yang tersirat dan tersurat, saling mendukung sekaligus saling bertentangan. Misalnya saja, tokoh-tokoh yang saling berkait satu sama lain, bisa di kehidupan masa kini, masa lalu maupun masa yang akan datang. Sehingga setiap tindakan mereka harus dilakukan dengan sangat hati-hati, karena tidak ada tindakan tanpa konsekuensi (terlebih di dunia di mana orang-orangnya begitu gemar menjatuhkan kutukan). Tapi kehati-hatian seperti apa pun tidak akan ada gunanya karena seluruh jalan hidup mereka sudah ditakdirkan sejak sebelum mereka lahir.

Jadi apakah kita harus membenci Drupadi, perempuan keras kepala yang dipenuhi dendam, karena kutukannya telah memicu perang Kurusekhtra? Atau malah bersimpati karena dia hanya menjalankan takdirnya? Itulah yang membuat epik Mahabarata luar biasa, tidak ada yang hitam atau putih di sana. Bahkan Dewa pun bisa ditendang dari surga karena kelakuannya.

Maka ucapan Byasa si orang bijak kepada Drupadi, saat wanita itu menangisi orang-orang terkasihnya yang gugur di medan perang, mungkin paling tepat menggambarkan moral cerita :

"Hidup yang kaujalani sekarang hanyalah gelembung dalam aliran kosmis, terbentuk oleh karma masa-masa hidup yg lain. Suamimu mungkin musuhmu di masa lalu. Dia yang kaubenci mungkin dulu kekasihmu. Kalau begitu, mengapa harus menangisi mereka?" Wow!

Dan setelah selesai membaca, saya tidak bisa tidak jatuh cinta pada Krishna! Can I have my own Krishna, pleaaaaassseeeeee????

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May 27, 2008 PC rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I liked this version of the Mahabharata told from the point of view of Draupadi despite its many shortcomings - the length of only 367 pages of course cannot do justice to a four volume epic. Some scenes that I would expect to be fully fleshed out to a microscopic degree (the disrobing, the year of exile, her year of marriage to Arjuna) are glossed over, and much attention is given to Draupadi's feelings towards Karna - understandable, because Divakaruni utilizes both unrequited love and the tit...more

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May 06, 2008 Sanjay rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A retelling of the Mahabharata from Draupadi's point of view sounds like it has much potential -- but this attempt is let down by trying to encompass all of the epic, and bringing in the stories of almost all the characters, instead of staying faithful to Draupadi's (feminist) viewpoint. Making it a half-baked encapsulation, instead of a re-interpretation.

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About Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is an award-winning author and poet. Her work is widely known, as she has been published in over 50 magazines, including the Atlantic Monthly and The New Yorker, and her writing has been included in over 50 anthologies. Her works have been translated into 20 languages, including Dutch, Hebrew and Japanese.Her newest novel is Oleander Girl (Simon and Schuster, 2013) http:...more Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is an award-winning author and poet. Her work is widely known, as she has been published in over 50 magazines, including the Atlantic Monthly and The New Yorker, and her writing has been included in over 50 anthologies. Her works have been translated into 20 languages, including Dutch, Hebrew and Japanese.Her newest novel is Oleander Girl (Simon and Schuster, 2013) http://www.chitradivakaruni.com/books....

She was born in India and lived there until 1976, at which point she left Calcutta and came to the United States. She continued her education in the field of English by receiving a Master’s degree from Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, and a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley.

To earn money for her education, she held many odd jobs, including babysitting, selling merchandise in an Indian boutique, slicing bread in a bakery, and washing instruments in a science lab. At Berkeley, she lived in the International House and worked in the dining hall. She briefly lived in Illinois, Ohio and Texas, but has spent most of her life in Northern California, which she often writes about.

Chitra currently teaches in the nationally ranked Creative Writing program at the Univ. of Houston. She serves on the Advisory board of Maitri in the San Francisco Bay Area and Daya in Houston. Both these are organizations that help South Asian or South Asian American women who find themselves in abusive or domestic violence situations. She is also closely involved with Pratham, an organization that helps educate children (especially those living in urban slums) in India.

Chitra has judged several prestigious awards, such as the National Book Award and the PEN Faulkner Award.

Two of her books, The Mistress of Spices and Sister of My Heart, have been made into movies by filmmakers Gurinder Chadha and Paul Berges (an English film) and Suhasini Mani Ratnam (a Tamil TV serial) respectively.

Chitra lives in Houston with her husband Murthy, her two sons Anand and Abhay (whose names she has used in her children’s novels) and Juno, the family dog.

Chitra loves to connect with readers on her Facebook author page, www.facebook.com/chitradivakaruni
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