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Title: The Mahabharata: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic
ISBN: 0226568229
Author:
R. K. Narayan
Publicate Date: 2000-10-15
Publish: 2000-10-15
List Price: $16.00
Average Customer Rating: 3.5
Format: Paperback
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $8.48
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $6.47
Amazon Merchant Price: $10.88
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| Customer Review: |
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1: Wonderfully presented
The story itself in timeless. Not enough good can be said about it.
As for this traslation, Narayan is a literay god. This presentation of the famous indian epic is very well accomplished and is a credit to the story. I have read many english versions of the Mahabharata, (the few that exist) and most are nearly unreadable.
This edition is accesable to the masses and still nuanced enough for the critically minded. Highly recomended.
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2: Don't buy it! It's all in Sanskrit! No, I'm just kidding.
This is actually in English and is a pretty good book. I mean, these old epics tend to get wordy and lose the story, because the writers at the time had no knowledge of storytelling but just wanted to impart rules and ideas to the people who read the book. The author cuts a lot of that out, meaning it's shortened down into a very readable piece.
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3: disappointing
i love r.k.narayan's narrative, but the way he retold the great epic is disappointing. he relies on the power of his narrative and forgets to stick to the epic style. the book captures most of the ideas, but it disregards the beautiful and magical details that embellish the epic, just like they embellish the culture it belongs to. the retold mahabharata may be a good read for those who want to have an idea of the epic, but then the idea can be obtained from the internet and for free.
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4: Useful as first introduction only
This book is only useful for those who want a very basic introduction to the Mahabharata, and only want to invest a minimum of time doing so. This book will give the reader the basic outline of the Plot, but does not dwelve into the many important Philosophical portions of the Epic, and the "outside stories". The book is well written. I like the style of R.K. Narayan. As an introduction this book is much better than that of Buck, not only because Narayan is a better writer, but because he had a better knowledge of the Epic, Hinduism and Sanskrit Literature. If you must get an introduction, I recommend the one by C.V. Narasimhan, which based on selected verses, and brings the reader much closer to the Mahabharata.
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5: Good book for new readers
This is a good book for those who do not know Mahabharat story. The reason it is good for the beginners is that it is concise and flows through the subject quickly. So it would be a good book for new readers who can quickly get a sort of overview of Mahabharat.If you already know Mahabharat plot and story, try and get a little advanced book.
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